People play games at the Twitch booth at Gamescom 2014 in Cologne, Germany on August 13, 2014. Photo: AFP

Germany's joblessness rate fell to 5.5 percent in August to reach its lowest level since the start of the pandemic, official statistics showed Tuesday.

Seasonally adjusted figures showed the number of unemployed people had dropped by 53,000 people in August, the BA federal labor agency said, as the recovery in Europe's top economy continues.

The August reading is the lowest since March 2020, when unemployment stood at a record-low 5 percent before coronavirus shutdowns and mass furlough schemes pummelled the economy.

"Unemployment and under-employment have fallen sharply again, even though we're still in the summer holiday period," said BA head Detlef Scheele. "Employment growth is gaining momentum."

The agency also revised downward the unemployment rate for July, from 5.7 percent to 5.6 percent.

Germany's economy has reopened widely since restrictions were eased in May, prompting a flurry of hiring.

Experts say the jobs rally has once again exposed a familiar problem in aging Germany: a lack of skilled workers.

"We are in need of 400,000 immigrants every year" to meet the demands of the labor market, Scheele noted to the Sueddeutsche newspaper. 

AFP