French jobless total tops 3 million in blow to Hollande
PARIS | Wed Sep 26, 2012 12:17pm EDT
(Reuters) - The number of jobless people in France rose in August for the 16th month running to breach the psychologically important level of 3 million, putting new pressure on President Francois Hollande's pledge to bring unemployment down.
Labor ministry data released on Wednesday showed that the number of registered jobseekers in mainland France rose by 23,900 last month to 3,011,000.
The increase, which was up 0.8 percent on one month and 9.2 percent over one year, brought the total to the highest level since June 1999.
The labor ministry data is the most frequently reported domestic jobs indicator for France, although it is not prepared according to widely used International Labor Organisation (ILO) standards nor expressed as an unemployment rate of number of job seekers compared to the total work force.
Hollande's poll ratings are plunging as he struggles to live up to election campaign promises to bring down surging unemployment in the face of a rash of industrial restructurings.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Daniel Flynn, Ron Askew)
