The number of unemployed German labor market members will stay below four million in 2010, according to a senior politician.

German labor minister Ursula von der Leyen suggested that although joblessness will rise moderately over the coming months, it will not affect more than four million individuals in the next 12 months.

Speaking during a parliamentary debate on the government's draft 2010 budget, Ms von der Leyen warned that the labor market is "not out of the woods yet", Dow Jones reported.

Unemployment affected 3.28 million people in December 2009, according to official government statistics.

The news agency revealed that she said: "We will undershoot the four million level this year, and not overshoot it."

To ensure that companies do not misuse Germany's liberal temporary worker laws, Ms von der Leyen also unveiled changes to the country's existing labor laws.

Earlier this month, the Federal Labor Agency revealed that the number of unemployed workers in the German economy declined by 3,000 in December.