Danish jobless rises to 3.3 % in April

Denmark's unemployment rate rose to 3.3 per cent in April from 2.9 per cent the previous month, official data showed yesterday.

Some 92,800 people were unemployed in April, up by 10,600 people from March's number, Statistics Denmark said citing seasonally adjusted figures.

It is the seventh consecutive monthly rise in the number of people out of work in the Scandinavian country, which has one of the lowest jobless rates in Europe.

Unemployment fell to a record low of 1.6 per cent in July 2008.

In the eurozone, of which Denmark is not a member, the unemployment rate stood at 8.9 per cent in March, according to figures from Eurostat.

Denmark's government said Tuesday that it expects the Danish economy to contract by 2.5 per cent in 2009.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, Denmark experienced negative growth of two per cent compared to the third quarter.

Year-on-year, the economy shrank by 3.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008.