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UNEMPLOYMENT

France sees biggest drop in jobless rate since 2007

The number of registered unemployed in France recorded in September its biggest monthly drop since the global economic crisis began in 2007, data showed on Monday.

France sees biggest drop in jobless rate since 2007
People visiting the stand of French Pole Emploi employment agency at a employment fair in Lille. Photo: AFP
The shortening of the jobless queue by 23,800, or 0.7 percent, was the biggest monthly improvement in recent years save for statistical glitch in August 2013.
   
Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri welcomed the fact that for the first time since 2011 that the number of jobless had dropped over a four-month period.
   
However, over a year the number of unemployed was still up by 3.1 percent, and including those working a few hours in the past month was still at a record 5.4 million.
   
With one in 10 French unemployed, President Francois Hollande has staked his political future on reducing unemployment, saying he will not stand for re-election in 2017 unless he begins to bring down unemployment that has been on the rise for the better part of a decade.
   
Since Hollande took office in 2012 amid the eurozone's enduring debt crisis and economic lethargy, a total of around 650,000 people have registered as unemployed in France.
 

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BUSINESS

Unemployment in France falls slightly despite the lockdown

Unemployment in France has fallen slightly, despite the ongoing ravages of the health crisis and consequent lockdown, latest statistics show.

Unemployment in France falls slightly despite the lockdown
Photo: Stephane du Sakatin/AFP

The number of unemployed job seekers in mainland France fell by 0.4 percent in the first three months of 2021, according to figures published by the French Ministry of Labour on Tuesday.

There were 3,560,600 unemployed registered at the Pôle Emploi (unemployment office), 12,200 fewer than during the last three months of 2020.

This follows a 2.7 percent fall in the final three months of 2020 – but the rate is still up 6.8 percent compared with the first three months of 2020, before Europe began to feel the economic impact of the Covid pandemic.

Currently all ‘non essential’ shops in France have been closed since April 3rd, while bars, restaurants, cafés, gyms, cinemas, theatres, museums and tourist sites have been closed since October 2020.

Despite the fall the total number of job seekers, the number of people who were in work but with reduced hours was up by 0.8 percent at the start of 2021, to 2,156,300.

That means that in total 5,716,900 people in mainland France were registered with Pôle emploi during this period, an increase of 4.9 percent compared with a year ago.

“Over the course of 2020, in one year, unemployment rose by 8 percent. This is obviously a lot, but we must remember that during the crisis of 2008-2009, unemployment leapt by 25 percent, so we can see that the government assistance is working,” Minister of Labour Élisabeth Borne told BFMTV on Tuesday.

The French government has put together a huge package of economic aid to try and mitigate the effects of the repeated lockdowns, from chômage partiel (furlough) schemes for employees to aid packages for business owners and the self-employed. But many small retailers have been hit hard by the three periods of closure for non-essential shops, while the tourist, leisure and hospitality sectors have also had a devastating year.

The economic downturn linked to the pandemic has disproportionately affected young people in France.  Across all categories of job seekers (unemployed and with reduced hours), the latest figures show a rise of 7.1 percent in a year for those under 25, compared to 4.5 percent for the 25-29 age range, and 4.8 percent for those aged 50 and over.

Men are also more likely to have signed up to Pôle emploi, with a 6.1 percent increase on last year, compared to a 3.8 percent increase among women.

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