The rate of employment in Germany increased in February this year for the third month in a row, official figures show.

According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, the number of people in jobs rose by 16,000 in seasonally-adjusted terms over the month.

The number of people in employment living in the country stood at 39.8 million in February, as measured in accordance with International Labor Organization guidelines.

After the elimination of seasonal variations, the level of residents in work increased very slightly in comparison with January, although the provisional results showed a fall in real terms of 0.3 per cent year-on-year.

The employment index in Germany has risen in seasonally-adjusted terms for three months in a row, with a slowdown in the annual rate of decline in the employment total.

Earlier this year, a report published by the German government forecast a further rise in the jobless total during 2010, taking it to almost four million individuals by the end of 2010.