BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's jobless numbers fell in October and employment hit a record high in September, data showed on Tuesday, underlining the strength of a labour market that is supporting a consumer-led upswing in Europe's largest economy.
The Federal Labour Office said the seasonally adjusted jobless total fell by 11,000 to 2.292 million. That was slightly below the predicted drop of 12,000.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.1 percent, the lowest since German reunification in 1990.
In a further positive sign, seasonally adjusted employment as measured by the International Labour Organisation climbed by 557,000 on the year to a record of 45.0 million in September, separate data released by the Federal Statistics Office showed.
Household spending has a main growth driver in Germany as record-high employment, increased job security, above-inflation pay hikes and low borrowing costs all help open shoppers' wallets.
A survey last week showed that German shoppers look keen to spend in November, but their expectations for the economy and their own personal income have slipped on worries about international trade conflicts and Brexit.
(Reporting by Michael Nienaber,)
