German unemployment steady at 7.3 pct in February

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.3 percent in February, after only 2,000 more people joined the ranks of the jobless during the month.

The Federal Labor Agency reported Thursday that a total of 3.138 million people were registered as out of work. That's 18,000 fewer than a year earlier.

Adjusted for seasonal factors, the unemployment rate also remained at 6.8 percent, in line with economists' expectations.

The jobless rate regularly rises during the winter months when construction work tends to moderate. However, Germany has experienced a relatively mild winter this year.