French Q2 jobless total falls to more than 5-year low

PARIS: France's jobless total fell in the second quarter to its lowest level in more than five years, data from the Labour Ministry showed on Thursday.

The number of people registered as out of work in mainland France fell in the quarter by 14,600 from the previous three months to 3,377,300, the ministry said.

The decline, 0.4pc over one quarter and 1.9pc over one year, brought the total to its lowest level since the first quarter of 2014.

The data offered fresh evidence that France is making progress in tackling its long-running problem with high unemployment, as growth holds up better than in other European countries and President Emmanuel Macron's labour market reforms start to bear fruit.