ZCZC
BCN-15
FRANCE-JOBLESS-RATE
France’s jobless rate at five-year low in Q1
PARIS, April 27, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – A total of 3.391 million French
people were registered as out of work in the first quarter of this year, a
record low since 2014, according to official data released on Friday.
This came as a fresh relief to President Emmanuel Macron, who had pledged
to bring the overall unemployment level down by the end of his mandate.
According to the Labor Ministry’s quarterly report, the number of jobless
people in mainland France was 24,200 less (down 0.7 percent) in the first
three months of 2019 than in the last quarter of 2018.
In France’s overseas departments, joblessness also fell by 0.7 percent
over the same period, the report said.
The employment rate of the population aged between 25 and 49 went down by
1 percent quarter on quarter, while that of people aged 49 and above rose by
0.4 percent. The employment rate was stable among people younger than 25.
President Macron aims to reduce the unemployment rate from 8.5 percent now
to 7 percent by 2022.
France has enacted legislation to ease rigid labor rules by enabling
companies to more flexibly hire and fire and by giving them more freedom to
define pay and working conditions.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1110