According to data from the Federal Labour Office, German unemployment rose unexpectedly in May for the first time in nearly two years, in a sign that a slowdown in Europe's largest economy is spilling over to the labour market.

The number of people out of work rose by 60,000 to 2.279 million in seasonally adjusted terms. That compared with forecast for a fall of 8,000.

The Labour Office said that the rise was mainly due to a special effect, but also to the slowing economy. Out of the increase of 60,000, the bulk, or about 50,000, is attributable to one-off effects related to checks of the work placement status of people entitled for unemployment benefit, while around 10,000 is due to economic impact.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 5.0% from 4.9% in April. The number of registered job vacancies stood at 792,000 in May, down 1,000 on year, the agency said.