French jobless total stable in May at record high

The number of unemployed people in mainland France was stable in May with a negligible rise of 100 people, just nudging the total to a new all-time high of 3,264,500, labour ministry data showed.

The figures, coming after two years of uninterrupted monthly rises, leave the number of jobseekers at the worst level since records began in 1996 and will add to doubts over President Francois Hollande’s pledge to reverse the trend by year-end.

“This stabilisation in May comes within a trend which remains a rising one and will remain so for the months to come,” the ministry said in a statement.

Europe’s No. 2 economy, which slipped into a shallow recession in the first quarter as output shrank 0.2 per cent, has been hit by a steady stream of industrial lay-offs in recent months as domestic demand and export markets flag.

The jobs crisis has become Hollande’s biggest headache a year into his term, turning opinion against him, particularly among low-income households, and putting a strain on state finances just as he is battling to cut back the deficit.

Over two years of uninterrupted rises, unemployment has risen by more than half a million in the country of 66 million.

The May data marked a slight respite after several months of strong rises since jobless claims soared past the psychological 3 million mark last August then hit an alltime high in March and another in April.