A survey has revealed that two thirds of Germans fear competition from Eastern Europeans following the opening up of the labour market to EU citizens as of 1 May this year.

The findings were published in the Sunday edition of long-standing paper Die Welt (Welt am Sonntag).

Only 15 percent of the respondents stated that they did not believe the May 1 watershed was a threat to German workers.

Meanwhile, the figures come hand in hand with news that Germany is enjoying its lowest rate of unemployment since 1991, with the current level at 7.3 percent. The National Labour Office released information today confirming that 52,000 citizens took themselves off the unemployed register in February alone.

The level of unemployment has been dropping for over two years, according to state statistics. (nh)