The jobless count dropped to 3.967 million last month, Labor Minister Franz Müntefering said in a statement. He also predicted that the number would continue to fall this year.

"The growth forecasts and labor market development show a clear trend: unemployment is sinking," Müntefering said.

This past March, 140,000 more people were registered as unemployed, and one year ago there were 800,000 more than now.

Positive trend among young people

Müntefering noted a strong, positive trend among the jobless under the age of 25, with their numbers sliding to about 400,000 from 555,000 one year ago. He also said that the current number of open jobs stood at 920,000, up by 500,000 since 2005.

Müntefering, who is also vice-chancellor and a member of the Social Democrats, one half of Germany's left-right coalition government, said Germany was seeing the fruits of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's labor market reforms, as well as a robust economic recovery.

Müntefering released the figures on May Day, one day before the Federal Labor Agency makes its official monthly report on unemployment.

German joblessness has been steadily decreasing over recent months and stood at 4.108 million in March.