BERLIN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany in May stands at 31.1 points, a three-year high, the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim said on Tuesday.

    The indicator continued to improve in May 2009, rising 18.1 points after 13.0 points in the previous month, the center said. It said this was above its historical average of 26.2 points.

    The optimism comes from recent modest signs of a recovery in the real economy, the center said. The strong decline in industrial production has come to an end, and exports and incoming orders have started to rise again, it said.

    ZEW president Wolfgang Franz said: "With regard to economic activity, more and more signs indicate that the worst seems to be over. However, with regard to labour market development the worst seems yet to come."

    The German economy plunged at a record pace in the first three months of the year. However, its manufacturing orders and exports appeared unexpectedly to rise in March and business confidence rebounded from a 26-year low in April.

    Economic expectations of the center also increased 16.7 points in May compared to the previous month, reaching 28.5 points.

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