French ILO Jobless Rate Rises In Q1

French jobless rate under the definition of International Labor Organization increased in the first quarter of the year, figures from the statistical office Insee showed Thursday.

The jobless rate in metropolitan France jumped to 9.6 percent in the first quarter from 9.3 percent in the previous quarter. The rate is as high as in 1999, the statistical office said.

The latest figure was 0.4 percentage point higher than a year earlier.

There were 2.7 million people out of work in Mainland France during the month.

The employment rate of the population aged 15-64 years decreased by 0.1 percentage point and stood at 63.8 percent in the first three months.