The German central bank has come under increasing pressure to lower rates as unemployment has surged to postwar highs in recent months.

The economy has sputtered and unemployment has surged, while frequent strikes have played havoc with people's lives.

Now as the Argentine economy shrinks, unemployment could easily surge to 18 percent again, he said.

Bankruptcies and unemployment will likely surge in coming months.

But unemployment has surged because the unrest has led to investor wariness, dampening industrial growth in cities.

But unemployment is surging, rural incomes are sliding, competition is rising and the government barely has its toe in the waters of political reform.

Germany's gross domestic product stagnated in the third quarter while unemployment surged in November.

First, the Government reported yesterday that unemployment surged in the final months of 1995 and that the trend was likely to continue into the new year.

The central bank's action came a few hours after the Government reported that unemployment in November had surged to a three-year high of 5.9 percent.

Among other ills, business failures and unemployment have both surged.