French Jobless Rate Shows First Drop Since Recession
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France’s unemployment rate unexpectedly fell for the first time in two years in the second quarter as companies began hiring again after the worst recession since World War II.
The jobless rate dropped to 9.7 percent from 9.9 percent in the three months through March, Paris-based statistics office Insee said today. Economists forecast an increase to 10 percent, based on the median of seven estimates in a Bloomberg survey.