The number of unemployed people in Germany rose to 2.727 million in June, an increase of some 4,000 over the previous month, data showed on Friday.

The unemployment rate in June remained unchanged from May at 5.8%, the Federal Employment Agency said.

Compared to a year ago, there were 172,00 more people unemployed.

The number of people out of work normally falls in June thanks to seasonal effects. In recent years, however, that trend has been bucked owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and the admission of Ukrainian war refugees.

This year’s increase, however, is attributed almost exclusively to economic factors.

“The weakness in the labour market continues,” said Andrea Nahles, chairwoman of the Federal Employment Agency.

“Unemployment and underemployment increased noticeably in June on a seasonally adjusted basis. Companies are still cautious in their search for new staff,” Nahles said.

As a result, the number of registered job vacancies continues to fall. In June, the agency had logged 701,000 vacancies, some 69,000 fewer than a year earlier.