Unemployment in France: a reversal of the trend?

French president François Hollande claims he met one of his key election pledges by reversing the unemployment trend in the country before the end of the year.  

French president François Hollande and Labour minister Michel Sapin Reuters/Etienne Laurent/Pool

Hollande is under fierce pressure to tackle unemployment. He cited official numbers released on Thursday evening as proof that the government is making headway against unemployment in the country.

The figures showed that the number of registered jobless people in October fell by 20 500 from the previous month. "The reversal of the upward unemployment curve has now started", he said.

In an earlier statement on Thursday, the French president caused some confusion by saying his promise might not be met yet, and that the government would fight "month-by-month" to reverse the rise and that "it will take all the time necessary".

Data released by the French labour ministry showed there were 3, 27 million registered jobseekers in October. Other data from the ministry show the following:

• 0,6 per cent fall in registered jobless numbers in October. This is the best record since April 2011.
• 25 100: number of under-25 year-olds who found a job since April 2012.
• 0,8 per cent rise in unemployment in October, when including jobseekers who are registered as part-time and reduced activity workers.