Wiesbaden, Germany - A record 40.3 million people were employed in Germany last year, according to figures released by the Federal Office of Statistics on Friday.

It was the highest number since German unification in 1990, the figures showed.

The number of employed people increased 1.5 per cent from 2007 to 582,000, partly due to the economic boom that lasted well into the first half of the year, according to the statistics office.

The economic downturn in the second half of 2008 did not have a major effect on employment, it said. Germany's jobless rate hit a 16-year-low in November when 7.5 per cent of the workforce, or 3.15 million people, were without jobs.

The Federal Labour Agency is due to release unemployment figures for December next week. (dpa)