hitting a seven-year high in December - employment has been moving in the other direction, rising by 28,000 in October, which was the latest available figures. "This is an encouraging signal for a revival of the German consumer," said Annemarieke Christian, economist with the international bank Morgan Stanley. Moreover, the increase in payrolls tend to reflect another crucial part of the government's labour reform drive, which is to focus on the low-paid job sector by encouraging the unemployed to become self employed or sign up for so-called "mini-jobs", which pay 400 euros or less a month.
