Unemployment in france reaches record high

Francois Hollande after meeting with World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim in November 2013 Photo: worldbank

3.3 million in the country are now registerd as without a job, the equivalent of 11.1 per cent of the population. In December 2013 alone, an additional 10,200 people were listed as jobless, despite President Francois Hollande promising that unemployment would fall by the end of the year.

Joblesness rose by a total of 5.7 per cent in 2013. The French Labour Ministry said that the rate of unemployment is slowing, but other experts said that the improvement was a result of state-sponsored work rather than a real economic recovery.

Indeed, while the UK, US and Germany have all enjoyed economic turnarounds following the financial crisis, France has seen its economy shrink in the third quarter of 2013. Across the border in Spain, meanwhile, the country has exited the EU bailout scheme, signalling brighter times ahead, eventually, for the Spanish economy. Indeed, Spain came out of recession in 2013, although unemployment continues to hold back many local buyers from re-entering the housing market.

For France, though, the rising unemployment and sluggish economy spell  uncertainty for the domestic property market.

Eric Heyer of think tank OFCE told the BBC: "For the private sector to create jobs, you need growth stronger than 1%, whereas the government Sees growth of 0.9% this year.""