As German companies try to extend an upswing in the German economy, against a backdrop of a fragile rebound in the euro area, data published by the German Federal Labour Agency showed that the number of people out of work in Europe’s largest economy climbed by a seasonally-adjusted 10,000 to 2,985 million in November, after gaining a revised 3,000 in October.

Economists in a Bloomberg poll had predicted no change. The adjusted jobless rate was unchanged at 6.9 per cent. This is the fourth consecutive month that Germany has experienced an increase in the number of unemployed, signalling an uneven recovery in the eurozone.

In the UK, the economy accelerated between July and September as it grew at its fastest rate in over three years, building on an unexpected turnaround that has buoyed the government.

According to Britian’s Office for National Statistics, GDP rose by 0.8 per cent, faster than the 0.7 per cent rate seen in the April-June period. The year-on-year growth rate was 1.5 per cent.

Both the quarterly and the year-on-year growth rates were in line with forecasts by economists in a Reuters survey. The numbers also made Britain one of its fastest-growing economies with an annualised growth rate of over three per cent. The country was until recently a laggard among the world’s rich countries.

Finally, in the US, as rising equity and home prices are underpinning US household wealth and contributing to a pickup in attitudes, the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort index, a measure of consumer sentiment, rose to its highest level in seven months, with the index increasing to -33.7 in the period ended November 24 from -34.6 the month before.

The reading was the best for any pre-Thanksgiving week since 2007 as consumers became less pessimistic about the state of their finances and the economy as the government’s partial shutdown last month receded from memories.

This article was compiled by Bank of Valletta for general information purposes only.