2020.05.1406:38:00UTC+00French Unemployment Rate Declines In Q1

The French unemployment rate declined in the first quarter as the number of persons actively searching for jobs decreased sharply during the lockdown, data from the statistical office Insee showed Thursday.

The ILO jobless rate dropped to 7.8 percent from 8.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, while it was forecast to rise to 8.4 percent. This was the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2008.

In metropolitan France, the unemployment rate came in at 7.6 percent.

The statistical office said the decline in unemployment rate did not reflect an improvement in the labor market.

The fall in the unemployment rate resulted of a sharp fall in the number of jobless persons declaring themselves available or actively looking for work during the period of lockdown, the Insee said.

The jobless rate among youth aged between 15 and 24, decreased to 19.2 percent in the first quarter from 19.9 percent in the fourth quarter.

The employment rate of the population aged 15-64 years was stable at 66 percent in the first quarter after a 0.7 points increase at the end of 2019.

Due to the coronavirus containment from mid-March, underemployment jumped by 2.7 points to 8.0 percent of employed people, an unprecedented level since the statistical office began measuring it in 1990.