Labor Minister Spins Jobless Numbers

In the face of Germany's unemployed climbing to 5 million, Economic and Labor Minister Wolfgang Clement drew attention on Wednesday to the number of jobs that seem to go unnoticed. Only one-third of the 750,000 current job openings were registered with Germany's labor agencies, Clement said. He added that 5 to 6 million illicit jobs go uncounted. Clement said 200,000 more people had a job now than a year ago, but he acknowledged that not all of the approximately 1.5 million people enrolled in job creation programs could be absorbed by the market.