French Jobless Climbs To New Record In November

(RTTNews) - France's unemployment rose to a new record in November amid the fragile economic activity, data from the Labor Ministry revealed Wednesday.

The number of unemployed rose by 27,000 to 3.49 million in November. The figure climbed 0.8 percent from the previous month and 5.8 percent from a year ago.

The sustained increase in unemployment adds to concerns of failure of President Francois Hollande's pledge to reduce unemployment and boost the economy. His popularity ratings have slumped as joblessness keeps rising.

Last week, the statistical office INSEE forecast the country's unemployment rate to reach 10.6 percent in the second quarter of 2015, marking the highest level since 1997. The government has forecast 0.4 percent economic growth for this year.

Meanwhile, INSEE reported yesterday that household spending recovered in November, after falling in the previous two months, and confirmed that the French economy expanded 0.3 percent in the third quarter, as estimated earlier.