German jobless rate ticked up in December

Germany’s jobless rate rose slightly in December, a sign that a creaking economy and high European Central Bank interest rates are slowly hitting the labor market. German adjusted unemployment rose to 5.9% in December, from 5.8% in November and October, data from the Federal Employment Agency showed Wednesday.Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the rate to stay the same as in November, at 5.8%. The rise in the number of unemployed people decelerated in December, however,