unemployment : Reports, news and investigations

The number out of work in France fell by 19,900 in April, giving a boost to President Hollande in his fight to bring down unemployment.

French head of state said he preferred people to have image of a president who conducted reforms rather than one who has done nothing.

In boost to President Hollande, jobless claims plunged by 60,000 in March in sharpest drop in France since dot.com economic boom of 2000.

But finance minister says France's deficit was lower in 2015 than expected and that growth is expected to accelerate this year to 1.5%.

Total fell by 27,900 to 3.55 million; President Hollande has said he won’t stand for re-election next year if he doesn’t reduce unemployment.

Some 3.59 million people were actively looking for work in 2015, as figures show a 0.4% rise in employment for December.

The jobless rate in the third quarter of 2015 was 10.6 percent, up 0.2 percent on previous quarter and just shy of the 1997 record of 10.7 percent.

Manuel Valls announced easing of rules limiting roll-on temporary contracts, severance pay limit of six months, and tax breaks for those who hire.

The number of unemployed in April rose by 0.7% to reach 3.53 million, despite France posting strong economic growth in first quarter.

Figures are new blow to President François Hollande who has made bringing down unemployment his top priority before elections in 2017.

In the first drop since August 2014, the number of people without work fell 19,100 to 3,481,600, down 0.5 percent month on month.

Official figures show that at the end of 2014 some 3.496 million people were claiming jobless benefits in France.

Analysis shows that when jobless rate increases by 10 percent, suicide rate goes up by about 1.5 percent for whole population aged 15 or above.

The number of jobless in France rose by 27,400 in November to total a record 3.488 million, representing a 5.8% rise over the past year.

The 4.3% year-on-year rise in September, revealed on Friday, brought the total number of unemployed in France to 3.432 million.

unemployment