German joblessness rose for the seventh month running in October, gaining 20,000 in seasonally adjusted terms but remaining close to a post-reunification low.

Labour Office data showed on Tuesday the number of people out of a job rose to 2.937 million in October from 2.917 in September. The consensus forecast in a Reuters poll of 31 economists was for unemployment to rise by 10,000..

The unemployment rate stood at 6.9 percent, unchanged from a revised figure for September.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers and Gareth Jones)