Germany's unemployment increased by 7,000 in August from the previous month, the Federal Labor Agency reportedly said Thursday. Economists had forecast unemployment to fall by 5,000.

The jobless rate remained unchanged at seasonally adjusted 6.8 percent. The rate came in line with economists' expectations.

According to the figures released by Destatis, the number of unemployed decreased by 40,000 in July from the prior month to 2.28 million. At the same time, the jobless rate dropped slightly to adjusted 5.3 percent from 5.4 percent in June.