BERLIN, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Employment prospects in Germany declined slightly for the second month in a row, a study by the research institute of the Federal Employment Agency found on Monday.
According to the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the reading for its closely-watched monthly employment barometer fell by 0.4 points to 106.8 points.
The findings came in the wake of a raft of official data in Germany which suggests that growth in the Eurozone's largest economy is beginning to cool.
"Half a year ago the positive trend for employment as reinforced by strong economic momentum. This is no longer the case," a statement by IAB expert Enzo Weber read.
The expansion rate for gross domestic product (GDP) in Germany halved to 0.3 percent during the first quarter of 2018.
The weakening of economic momentum in Q1 has attributed falling exports and government expenditure, as well as one-off effects from an unusually severe flu season and widespread industrial action. Nevertheless, the Federal Statistical Office highlighted that the figures still marked the 15th consecutive quarterly increase in German national output.
As a consequence, most experts still expect GDP growth to pick up again in the second quarter of the year. The federal government predicts that Germany will experience an annual increase in GDP of 2.3 percent in 2018 and 2.1 percent in 2019.
The country achieved its highest growth rate in six years in 2017 (2.2 percent on a price-adjusted basis) thanks to continued export strength and more spendthrift domestic consumers.
The IAB's labor market barometers are based on monthly surveys conducted among local Federal Labor Agency offices across Germany. The Federal Labor Agency is scheduled to release the latest batch of official data for the current month of May on Wednesday.
