Germany also reduced spending last year on job-creation programs, which helped add nearly 400,000 people to the jobless rolls last year.

"When poverty and jobless rolls rise, we all pay," he said in a speech at the Clayton County Social Services office here.

But in the mid-1990's, recession set in and the jobless rolls abruptly tripled.

But it has sent more than a million Americans onto the jobless rolls.

Japan's unemployment rate remained at 5.4 percent in August, but the jobless rolls swelled for the 17th consecutive month.

In the first eight months of 1998, 320,000 people were taken off Germany's jobless rolls.

The Government agency said the jobless rolls declined by only 10,000 in the month and remained over the one million mark.

The number of discouraged workers rose by 33,000 last month, subtracting them from the jobless rolls.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, about 12,000 were added to the jobless rolls for a total of 1,069,000 unemployed.

If Japan follows through with his plans, according to one study, the jobless rolls will swell by 2.4 million workers.