French jobs market turns corner, but skills mismatch a concern
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France’s unemployment rate dropped below nine per cent for the first time since 2009, adding weight to efforts by President Emmanuel Macron to liberalise a rigid labour market that remains hamstrung by a skills mismatch. The rate fell to 8.9 per cent in thFrench jobs market turns corner, but skills mismatch a concern
France’s unemployment rate dropped below nine per cent for the first time since 2009, adding weight to efforts by President Emmanuel Macron to liberalise a rigid labour market that remains hamstrung by a skills mismatch. The rate fell to 8.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year from 9.6 per cent in the previous three months, national statistics office INSEE said last week. That drop was the steepest since the 2008 financial crisis, suggesting a clear break below the levels of around 10 per cent of the last few years as an economic recovery in the eurozone gathers pace. Around four months after, as his first major policy initiative as president, Macron changed labour rules to gave firms increased flexibility to hire and fire staff, the French economy is creating jobs at its fastest rate since 2007, INSEE said last week. Whether unemployment can fall much further without additional reforms is far from certain, however. “I think it’s too soon to say that Macron’s reforms are having a positive impact, but it’s clear that stronger activity and a more positive business environment are boosting employment,” Economist Diego Iscaro of IHS Markit said. Surveys have showed business... Read more