German unemployment rises less than expected in December, labour office says

BERLIN, Jan 3 (Reuters) - The number of people out of work in Germany rose less than expected in December, federal labour office figures showed on Friday.

The office said the number of unemployed increased by 10,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.87 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that figure to rise by 15,000.

The seasonally adjusted job rate remained stable at 6.1%.

"The winter break on the labour market begins in December. As a result, unemployment and underemployment increased in December, as is usual for this month," said labour office head Andrea Nahles.

(Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Friederike Heine)

((Miranda.Murray@thomsonreuters.com;))