French jobless rises in May for first time since Dec

PARIS: The number of jobless people in France rose in May for the first time since December, labour ministry data showed on Tuesday, edging up 0.7 percent from April.

The number of registered jobseekers rose by 17,700 to 2.7 million from the previous month, breaking a four-month streak of declines. The May figure was up 0.3 percent year-on-year.

With a presidential election looming in 10 months, the government of conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy is struggling to convince voters that stubbornly high unemployment will keep falling as the economy recovers.

The labour ministry data is the most frequently reported domestic jobs indicator in France, although it is not prepared according to widely used International Labour Organisation standards.

Under ILO accounting, the most recent data shows the unemployment rate for mainland France fell to 9.2 percent in the first quarter from 9.3 percent at the end of 2010, nearing a government target of 9.0 percent by the end of the year.

Copyright Reuters, 2011