Assuming there is no renewed escalation in the European sovereign debt crisis, the outlook for the German economy is very positive. "We expect to see growth of around 2 percent in the course of both 2012 and 2013. Given the low 'growth overhang' from 2011, this gives average GDP growth of only 1 percent this year, but accelerating to 2 percent in 2013. Growth at this pace is sufficient to continue to bolster the upswing on the labor market. At the end of 2013 only 2.5 million people would then be out of work in Germany," said Michael Heise, Chief Economist at Allianz.