German unemployment hit a five-year high on Wednesday. The number of people out of work, adjusted for seasonal factors, rose 62,000 in January to 4.274 million, the Federal Labour Office said. On an unadjusted basis, unemployment rose 398,000 to 4.623 million, equalling a level last reached in March 1998. The gloomy news pile additional pressure on Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. In regional elections on February 2, Schroeder's Social Democratic Party lost vital seats to the opposition CDU over his handling of the economy.