German unemployment posted a surprise gain in May with the seasonally adjusted numbers of the out of work climbing by 24,000 from April, the labour office said Wednesday. The rise pushed the total number of jobless in Europe's biggest economy during May up to 2.91 million, according to dpa. Analysts had expected unemployment to sink by 15,000 this month. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7 per cent. "The spring recovery slowed in May," labour office chief Frank-Juergen Weise said. "This is a long-term consequence of the mild winter. Overall the labor market is going well." In seasonally unadjusted terms, unemployment fell by 61,000 to 2.882 million, the labour office said. The unadjusted rate slipped from 6.8 per cent in April to 6.6 per cent this month.
