German jobless total rises more than expected in October

BERLIN: German unemployment rose more than expected in October, data showed on Wednesday, suggesting that a manufacturing crisis in Europe's largest economy is spilling over to the labor market. Data from the Federal Labour Office showed the number of people out of work increased by 6,000 to 2.287 million in seasonally adjusted terms. That compared with the Reuters consensus forecast for a rise of 2,000.

The jobless rate held steady at 5.0% - slightly above the record-low of 4.9% reached earlier this year.

"The recent economic weakness is leaving its marks on the job market. But all in all, it still proves to be robust," said Labour Office head Detlef Scheele. Meanwhile, a government panel in Germany said businesses are free to develop tools for artificial intelligence but also must weigh a variety of factors and ethical restrictions, a recommendation that is drawing concern about the country's ability to still generate innovation in the AI space.

The federal government established the Data Ethics Commission in July of 2018 to develop ethical guidelines and recommendations for protecting "the individual, preserving social cohesion, and safeguarding and promoting prosperity in the information age." The Commission recently published a series of opinions on algorithms and artificial intelligence, recommending more regulation that also leaves space for innovation.

"The Data Ethics Commission holds the view that regulation is necessary, and cannot be replaced by ethical principles," says the commission in the report. "This is particularly true for issues with heightened implications for fundamental rights that require the central decisions to be made by the democratically elected legislator."