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JOBLESS

Jobless rate continues sharply higher

French unemployment rose in October for the 18th consecutive month, according to government figures released on Tuesday.

Jobless rate continues sharply higher
Labour Minister Michel Sapin (Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen)

An extra 45,500 people were added to the rolls of those seeking work, a 1.5 percent increase from September.

The ministry of labour said the number of people without any work rose to 3.1 million, up 10.6 percent from October 2011.
   
The number of workers registered for unemployment benefits who are employed part-time also rose significantly, up 71,500 from in September.

When this category of jobless persons is included, the total number of people seeking work climbs to 4.58 million.

The increase is the highest seen since April 2009, a period marked by the global financial crisis.

And the number of people out of work has not been as high since May 1998 as layoffs take their toll and workers over the age of 50 find it tougher to find jobs.

The figures come as another bad dose of news for the Socialist government of François Hollande.

Since Hollande was elected in May, 230,000 people have been added to the jobless rolls.

“This negative series of numbers reinforces our determination to act together to reverse the curve between now and the end of next year,” Labour Minister Michel Sapin told French media.

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ECONOMY

Spain’s unemployment rate rises for first time in a year

Spain's first-quarter jobless rate rose for the first time in a year, official figures showed Thursday, mainly due to a lull in the tourism sector.

Spain's unemployment rate rises for first time in a year
Jobless queue outside a job centre in Madrid. Photo: AFP

Unemployment from January to March 2017 stood at 18.7 percent, the national statistics institute INE reported.   

This represents a slight increase from the previous quarter when the jobless rate came in at 18.6 percent after having dropped continuously since the first three months of 2016.

At the end of March this year, Spain counted 4.25 million people without employment, the INE said, adding that the services sector — and to a lesser extent industrial jobs — had been particularly hard hit.

The services sector, which includes hotel and restaurant trade, saw 105,000 more people out of a job in the first quarter, it added.   

Spain's tourism sector is a major engine for growth in the country, but it depends on seasonality and short-term contracts.   

This year, Easter week – a major holiday in Spain that generates many jobs – fell later than previous years and was not included in the first quarter.   

According to the INE, over a quarter of all jobs were short-term in the first quarter, while more than 15 percent were part-time.    

The Eurostat statistics agency says Spain is the country with most short-term contracts in the European Union — a situation that critics say has created instability for many people who go from one contract to another, including highly specialised professionals like surgeons.

And while unemployment has gradually dropped from a high of close to 27 percent at the beginning of 2013 when the economic crisis raged, it is still twice the eurozone average and remains the second highest rate in the European Union after Greece.

The unemployment rate among young people aged 19 to 25, meanwhile, remains high at 38.3 percent.