German unemployment hits new high

The rate of German unemployment is higher than at any point in 70 years:

More than 5.2 million Germans were out of work in February, new figures show.

The figure of 5.216 million people, or 12.6% of the working-age population, is the highest jobless rate in Europe's biggest economy since the 1930s.

The news comes as the head of Germany's panel of government economic advisers predicted growth would again stagnate.

Speaking on German TV, Bert Ruerup said the panel's earlier forecast of 1.4% was too optimistic and warned growth would be just 1% in 2005.

The big question here is that if immigration is supposed to be good for an economy then why is Germany - a nation with a lot of immigrants - doing so poorly?

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