French Unemployed +0.2% in December to 3.49 Million
January 27 2015 - 01:31PM
Dow Jones News
By Stacy Meichtry
PARIS--The number of unemployed people in France rose to a new
high in December, figures showed Tuesday, underscoring the
challenge President Francois Hollande faces in repairing the
eurozone's second-largest economy.
The number of unemployed--defined as registered job seekers who
are fully unemployed--was 3,496,400 in December, the labor ministry
said. That marked a 0.2% increase from November and a 5.7% increase
from December 2013.
Since Mr. Hollande took power in May 2012, the ranks of the
unemployed have swollen by over half a million. That is despite the
socialist leader's efforts to increase employment with
state-sponsored jobs for young people and a more recent initiative
to cut labor taxes in a bid to get employers recruiting.
Write to Stacy Meichtry at stacy.meichtry@wsj.com