Right after the French President Francois Hollande took office in 2012, he promised to bring down the unemployment rate and in four years this is the first time the rate has dropped to 9.9 percent in the second quarter. According to the National Statistics Office the unemployment rate was 10.2% in the first quarter. 

This is a feather in the cap for the President right before the next election.  According to Bloomberg, the decline brings the rate to its lowest level since the third quarter of 2012, the first full quarter during Hollande’s time in office. The Socialist President has been dogged by high unemployment throughout his mandate and has repeatedly said that he needs to reverse an increase in joblessness in order to seek a second mandate.

However, despite the fall, the French unemployment rate remains high compared with some major economies. In the UK, the jobless rate is 4.9%, while 4.2% of people are out of work in Germany.

The President said he would not stand for re-election in 2017 unless there was a sustained fall in unemployment this year. 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 labour force every year.