France unemployment drops to four-year low in Q2

French unemployment dropped to four-year low during the second quarter, providing a sigh of relief to President Francois Hollande who has staked his political future on creating more jobs for the economy.

The unemployment rate dropped to 9.9 percent in the second quarter from 10.2 percent in the first quarter, data released by national statistics office Insee showed Thursday. The indicator is at its lowest level since the third quarter of 2012, when it was 9.8 percent.

Moreover, the jobless rate for mainland France, excluding its overseas territories, dipped below 10 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and fell further to 9.6 percent in the three months to end-June.

Unemployment was down in all age categories, but the fall in youth unemployment was sharper; it fell 0.4 points to 24.3 percent, the lowest since 2014. However, the percentage of long-term unemployed (those registered as out of work for over a year), remained stable at 4.3 percent.

Unemployment is an important indicator in France as President Hollande has been dogged by rising unemployment throughout his election mandate and has said that he will not run for re-election in May 2017 if unemployment does not start down-trending.

Meanwhile, unemployment in France has declined more slowly than in most leading European economies, as a gradual recovery in economic growth and job creation is offset by the number of young people entering the labor force every year.