French Third Quarter Unemployment Ticks Up To 9.7%

PARIS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Nov, 2016 ) - France's unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 9.7 percent in the third quarter after a significant mid-year drop, the statistics office announced Thursday.

Year-on-year, the rate was down 0.4 points, Insee said, adding that there were 2.8 million unemployed in mainland France in the July-September period.

For all of France including its overseas population, third quarter unemployment stood at 10.0 percent.

The latest official unemployment figures are the last before President Francois Hollande is due to announce whether he will stand for re-election next year. The deeply unpopular Socialist leader has staked his presidency on a vow to make a "credible" dent in unemployment.

When he took office in May 2012, joblessness stood at 9.3 percent in mainland France and 9.7 percent overall. Hollande is expected to announce his intentions by December 15.