German unemployment edges slightly up

German unemployment edged slightly up in July to 7.0 percent because of seasonal factors, the Federal Labour Agency said Thursday. The number of people out of work was up by 46,000 from June to July, but down by 247,000 year-on-year to stand at 2.93 million, the agency said. Adjusted for seasonal effects, unemployment was down by 11,000 over the month, slightly under the 15,000 figure expected by experts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. In June, the jobless rate had stood at 6.9 percent. The Labour Agency attributed the small monthly increase to seasonal factors, including school-leavers registering as unemployed and a firms putting back hiring until after the holiday season.