French President François Hollande got an unexpected boost Thursday from data showing the unemployment rate began to fall at the end of last year, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The quarterly publication from statistics agency Insee came as a surprise because it is at odds with a separate monthly publication which showed the number of registered job seekers kept rising to reach a new high in January. Those monthly figures had prompted ministers to drop Mr. Hollande's pledge to "invert the unemployment curve" last year.
The quarterly figures made for another change in rhetoric.
"This morning there is good news—unemployment is in the process of retreating," Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told television news channel BFM TV.
The data come as Mr. Hollande struggles on nearly every other front. Economic growth is accelerating only slowly after two years of stagnation, the European Union has warned that France is falling far behind on its deficit reduction plans, and the president's popularity has sunk to new lows with local elections just weeks away.
At the turn of the year, Mr. Hollande fought back, promising to forge a pact with business to cut taxes on labor in the hope that would spur investment and recruitment. He secured an initial victory on Wednesday when some labor unions and business groups signed off on plans for companies to make commitments on jobs in exchange for the tax cuts.
Additional tax cuts won't come in until next year and the promise of a pact has so far failed to translate into the desired confidence boost.
Only 17% of French people are confident Mr. Hollande can resolve France's problems, a new low for the socialist leader, according to a TNS Sofres' poll of 1,000 people between Feb. 27 and March 3.
Analysts warned Mr. Hollande will struggle to use the unemployment numbers as a confidence boost as the slight fall in the rate is due mainly to government-sponsored contracts for young people rather than an economic recovery.
"This is a half-victory for François Hollande," said ING economist Julien Manceaux.
Read more of this report from The Wall Street Journal.