PARIS, Nov. 25 (Reuters) - France could trim its unemployment rate to 9.0 percent by end-2011, the head of France's jobs agency said on Friday, supporting views that the job market is slowly stabilising.
Unemployment has remained high in France during the economy's to date modest recovery from recession, with the INSEE national statistics office reporting a joblessness rate of 9.7 percent in the second quarter.
Jobless figures for October are due on Friday afternoon.
'We have noted since the middle of the year a much slower increase in the number of job seekers,' Christian Charpy, head of the Pole Emploi public jobs agency, told daily Le Parisien.
However, long-term unemployment levels would rise, he added.
Headline unemployment numbers rose 0.2 percent in September versus the previous month, marking the second consecutive monthly rise after a 0.6 percent increase in August.
Economy Minister Christine Lagarde has said France's labour market is stabilising after a moderate recession, but joblessness remains a top concern as the recovery in Europe's second largest economy lags behind Germany's.
(Reporting by Clement Guillou, writing by Nick Vincour; Editing by John Stonestreet) Keywords: FRANCE JOBS/ (nicholas.vinocur@reuters.com; +33 1 49495188; Reuters Messaging nicholas.vinocur@reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Unemployment has remained high in France during the economy's to date modest recovery from recession, with the INSEE national statistics office reporting a joblessness rate of 9.7 percent in the second quarter.
Jobless figures for October are due on Friday afternoon.
'We have noted since the middle of the year a much slower increase in the number of job seekers,' Christian Charpy, head of the Pole Emploi public jobs agency, told daily Le Parisien.
However, long-term unemployment levels would rise, he added.
Headline unemployment numbers rose 0.2 percent in September versus the previous month, marking the second consecutive monthly rise after a 0.6 percent increase in August.
Economy Minister Christine Lagarde has said France's labour market is stabilising after a moderate recession, but joblessness remains a top concern as the recovery in Europe's second largest economy lags behind Germany's.
(Reporting by Clement Guillou, writing by Nick Vincour; Editing by John Stonestreet) Keywords: FRANCE JOBS/ (nicholas.vinocur@reuters.com; +33 1 49495188; Reuters Messaging nicholas.vinocur@reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.