French Unemployment Rate Drops Slightly

(RTTNews) - France's unemployment rate dropped marginally in the fourth quarter, the statistical office INSEE showed on Tuesday.

The jobless rate fell unexpectedly to 7.3 percent from 7.4 percent in the third quarter. The rate was forecast to rise to 7.5 percent.

The unemployment rate remained slightly above its lowest level since 1982, when the rate was 7.1 percent.

The number of unemployed decreased 63,000 sequentially to 2.3 million.

The unemployment rate among young people, aged below 24, remained high in the fourth quarter. However, the rate declined to 19.0 percent from 19.8 percent.

Further, data showed that the employment rate slid 0.2 points over the quarter to 68.9 percent. It remained 0.4 points above its level from a year ago.