French jobless claims plunged by 60,000 in March in the sharpest drop since the dot.com economic boom of 2000 in a rare boost to President François Hollande as he struggles to convince voters the economy is recovering, reports FRANCE 24.
The Labour Ministry said that the number of people registered as out of work in mainland France stood at 3,531,000 in March, down 1.7 percent over one month, but up 0.5 percent over one year.
The monthly decrease, the biggest since September 2000, more than reversed a spike in the jobless total the previous month to a new record high amid recent volatility in monthly figures that the government says is typical when a recovery takes root.
Though the headline number marked a sharp improvement, the Labour Ministry’s figures showed much of the decline stemmed from people dropping out of the jobless toll because they had not updated their job-seeking status.