The German economy ministry yesterday published an optimistic set of forecasts for 2018-19, saying strong growth into next year will help create a million new jobs, reports AFP from Frankfurt Am Main.

“The German business cycle remains spirited and the upturn is continuing” against the background of “brisk global growth,” Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said.

Government economists slightly downgraded their growth expectations for 2018 to 2.3 percent from 2.4 percent.

But they were much more optimistic for 2019, predicting expansion of 2.1 percent rather than the 1.7 percent forecast in January.

The economy ministry’s outlook for both years is slightly brighter than that of Germany’s leading think-tanks.

Altmaier said that by the end of 2019, Europe’s largest economy would make “important strides on the path to full employment”, as pledged by Chancellor Angela Merkel during last year’s election campaign.

He predicted that around one million jobs would be created, driving unemployment to new all-time lows, while workers should enjoy fatter pay packets.

Better pay for workers should help to reduce Germany’s massive export surplus by increasing demand for goods from abroad.

The surplus—the amount by which exports exceed imports—is a bone of contention with trade partners in Europe and the United States, who say Berlin is not doing enough to help their economies by stoking domestic demand.

By 2019, the economy ministry expects the surplus to fall to around 7.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from around 9.0 percent last year.