Hanover, Germany- The world boom in steel has not only spelled a continued surge in sales by the German industry, but also brought the first rise in employment since 1973 in an industry that has been shedding labour for more than a generation.

Hans Juergen Kerkhoff, president of the Steel Business Association, issued the figures Monday at the Hanover Fair, the world's top show of equipment for heavy industry.

"We've started this year with a lot of momentum," he told reporters. "First-quarter output will probably turn out to be 13.5 million tons, the best quarter we have had in the period since 1990."

In Germany, the industry employed 92,357 people at the end of last year, an annual gain of 1.4 per cent and the first gain since 1973.

Despite signs of economic crisis in the world, Kerkhoff forecast full-year German steel output would be 48.5 million tons, equal to that in 2007.

That is only a small fraction of total world output of crude steel, which last year was 1.343.5 million tons, according to data from the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI).

He said the industry was being hurt by a sharp increase in costs of its raw materials. The price of coking coal had risen the most drastically.

"Current price-lists suggest we face a tripling of costs compared to one year ago," he said. (dpa)