FRANKFURT (AP) -- The number of people working in Germany's manufacturing sector was down 4.6 percent on the year in October, reflecting the impact of the economic crisis on the export-driven economy, official data showed Wednesday.
Some 5 million people were working at manufacturing companies with 50 or more employees at the end of October -- 240,500 fewer than a year earlier, the Federal Statistical Office said.
The car industry, including parts, saw a 4.7 percent decline in manufacturing employees, the office said. There were steeper declines in the machinery industry, where the work force was down 5.1 percent, and in the metal industry, where it shrank by 6.7 percent.
The food industry, however, saw a 1.4 percent increase in manufacturing jobs.
The German economy, Europe's biggest, emerged from recession in this year's second quarter and is on course to keep growing. However, unemployment is expected to rise in the coming months.
