France's unemployment rate up to 8.9 pct in Q1: Insee

PARIS –Quarterly jobless rate in France rose by 3 percentage points to 8.9 percent over the first three months of the year after a slowing trend was recorded a quarter earlier, the national statistics agency Insee said on Wednesday. 

In France mainland, 2.6 million people were out of work for the January-March period, 83,000 more in the domestic labor market in early 2018. 

On a yearly basis, however, the figure fell by 0.4 percent, Insee data showed. 
The unemployment rate increased particularly among women and across all age groups. Those aged between 15 to 24 years recorded the highest rise. They numbered 263,000, up by 1.2 percent over the period to stand at 21.1 percent. 

French President Emmanuel Macron targets to lower joblessness rate to 7 percent by 2022 from the current 9.4 percent. 

With the aim, he enacted legislation to lessen rigid labor rules by offering more flexibility to companies to hire and fire, and more freedom in terms of pay and working condition. Enditem 
---