France's jobless total rose slightly in October, partially reversing a record drop the previous month as a labour market recovery makes choppy progress, Labour Ministry data showed on Friday. The number of people registered as out of work in mainland France rose by 8,000 last month to 3,483,600, up 0.2 percent both over one month and one year, the ministry said.
A gradual improvement in the French economy and faster job creation has so far only translated into a gradual decrease in the number of jobseekers since a peak in October 2015. The improvement is the private sector is also partially masked by an increase in jobless numbers due to the end of a hiring premium for small firms and a reduction in the number of government-subsidised job contracts. Economist say that can at least in part explain why official data last week showed that the jobless rate rose to 9.7 percent in the third quarter, from 9.5 percent in the previous three months despite surging business confidence.
President Emmanuel Macron, elected in May on pro-business reform platform, has pledged to bring the jobless rate down to 7 percent by the end of his mandate in 2022.
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