France Jobless Rate Near 4-year Low

(RTTNews) - French unemployment rate dropped in the second quarter, after holding steady in the previous three months, to its lowest level since mid-2012, preliminary figures from INSEE showed Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted ILO jobless rate for metropolitan France fell to 9.6 percent from 9.9 percent seen in each of the previous two quarters. A year ago, the rate was 10.1 percent.

The latest figure was the lowest since the third quarter of 2012, when it was 9.4 percent.

The number of unemployed declined by 74,000 to 2.8 million persons in the second quarter.

The youth unemployment rate, which applies to the 15-24 age group, decreased to 23.7 percent from 24.1 percent in the previous quarter. The rate was at the same level in the same quarter last year.

The number of youth unemployed fell to 643,000 from 657,000 in the previous three months. A year ago, the figure was 635,000.

The ILO unemployment rate for the metropolitan France and overseas territories eased to 9.9 percent from 10.2 percent in the first quarter. The figure declined for the first time in three quarters and was also the lowest since the third quarter of 2012, when it was 9.8 percent.