French ILO unemployment rate falls in Q4 2017

The average ILO jobless rate in metropolitan France and the overseas departments came in at an average of 8.9 percent of the labor force in the fourth quarter of 2017. This is the lowest level since early 2009. It fell by 0.7 percentage points quarter-on-quarter, after having increased by 0.2 points in the third quarter of 2017. On a year-on-year basis, the jobless rate dropped 1.1 points, the largest fall since the first quarter of 2008.

The number of unemployed fell 205,000 to 2.5 million people in metropolitan France; therefore the jobless rate fell 0.7 percentage points as compared to the third quarter of 2017, standing at 8.6 percent of the labor force. The rate of employment rose 0.6 points and the activity rate was nearly stable. The jobless rate fell throughout all age groups, especially among youths and persons aged 25 to 49.

Long-term unemployment dropped sharply. Among the unemployed, 1.1 million declared that they had been seeking a job for at least one year. The long-term jobless rate stayed at 3.6 percent of the labor force in the fourth quarter 2017. It decreased by 0.6 percentage points quarter-on-quarter and by 0.7 percentage points over a year.

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