Unemployment is worst for 12 years

JOBLESS people seeking work increased by 34,400 in October to 2,814,900 – the highest level since December 1999.

The figure is up 1.2% on the previous month and up 4.9% in a year. Adding in jobseekers who have some part-time work, the figure is 4,193,000 in Metropolitan France, up 6.9% over a year.

Unemployment is hitting over-50s the hardest – up 15% in a year. Numbers of those who have been registered unemployed for three years or more has increased by 21.5% over a year.

The government admits that it will not attain its target of limiting unemployment to 9% by the end of the year.

Announcing the figures, Work Minister Xavier Bertrand admitted they were “not good”, “due to an economic crisis that we are not out of yet and which sometimes, at grassroots level, is even getting worse.”

Mr Bertrand said that “as long as the economic situation doesn’t improve, I don’t see how the employment figures could really improve”.