German unemployment falls more than expected

FRANKFURT
German unemployment declined far more than expected in January in seasonally adjusted terms, data from the country's labor agency showed                                         
In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of unemployed in Europe's largest economy fell 28,000; in December the jobless numbers declined 19,000, revised from an originally reported drop of 15,000. Experts polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a drop of 5,000                                        
The adjusted unemployment rate came in at 6.8%, matching December, which was revised from 6.9%
In unadjusted terms, the unemployment rate rose to 7.3% in January from 6.7% in December
The increase in unadjusted terms was due to seasonal reasons, the agency said in a statement                                        
The data suggest ongoing strength in the German economy
After sluggish economic expansion of 0.4% last year, some experts forecast growth in the first quarter of this year at 3% in annualized terms