Germany discovers new export -- its jobless

By Erik Kirschbaum

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany, the world's leading export nation, has long been successful in shipping its state-of-the-art cars and machinery to just about every country.

Now, after importing workers for decades, it has a new entry on its export lists -- jobless Germans.

Plagued by high unemployment due to the turmoil of re-unification and rigid labor laws, Germany has been helping its skilled and less-skilled jobless workers match up with foreign employers searching for manpower.

The country has also been offering financial support to cover moving and transportation costs for the hordes of unemployed Germans in search of jobs across the European Union, and even as far away as Australia and Canada.

As an example of how it works: a newspaper on the Canary island of Fuerteventura was recently filled with adverts placed by Germans hunting for jobs.

"German seeks job in hotels or tourism," read one. "All relocation and travel costs paid for by German Labour Office."

Germany had an unemployment rate of 8 percent in February, about one percentage point higher than the Eurozone average: 3.6 million people are without jobs and more than 155,000 Germans emigrate each year.

Many thousands have been helped by the Labour Office's International Placement Service (ZAV) in Bonn, which offers to some "Mobilitaetshilfe" (mobility assistance) or a "Mobilitaetspraemie" (mobility bonus).