Courtesy of Mish.
The grim economic news from France keeps piling up. Today, Europe Online reports Number of Unemployed in France Hits New High.
The number of unemployed people in France has hit a new high as the country grapples with the fallout of the financial crisis and a sluggish eurozone recovery, the Labour Department reported Friday.
At the end of June, there were 3.398 million people who were registered as being without a job in the eurozone‘s second-largest economy – 0.3 per cent more than in the previous month.
Compared to June of last year, the number of jobless was up 4 per cent.
In a glimmer of positive news, the number of unemployed youth was down compared to last year: those under 25 without a job decreased by 3.1 per cent to 535,000.
France‘s 10.1-per-cent unemployment rate is nearly twice as high as in neighbouring Germany, which registers a 5.1-per-cent rate.
French Private Sector Employment Contracts 9th Month
According to the Markit Flash France PMI, French private sector output contracts again, albeit at slower pace.
The latest flash PMI data signalled that France’s private sector remained in contraction at the start of the third quarter. Output was down for the third month in succession, although the rate of decline eased to a marginal pace that was the weakest in that sequence.
Driving the headline index higher was an improvement in the performance of the French service sector. Activity there increased for the first time in three months, albeit marginally.
On the other hand, the manufacturing sector sank further into contraction, with output falling at the sharpest rate in 15 months. New business received by French private sector firms decreased for a fourth consecutive month in July. Although moderate, the rate of decline was quicker than in June. Lower new work was signalled in both the services and manufacturing sectors, with the latter reporting the sharper fall.
Anecdotal evidence suggested that client budgets were under pressure, leading to a squeeze on new orders despite further reductions in prices charged by French private sector firms. Indeed, output prices fell for a twenty – seventh successive month in July , with the rate of decline accelerating since June. A number of panellists indicated that they had been forced to pare their margins in order to stem the loss of new business , with competitive pressures generally reported to be strong. Both service providers and manufacturers reported lower charges. In contrast, firms’ input prices continued to rise at a solid pace in July, with companies in both services and manufacturing signalling increases. There were reports from the survey panel of increased costs for labour and raw materials. Employment in the French private sector decreased for the ninth month running in July. That said, the rate of decline was marginal and the weakest since Marc h. Both service providers and manufacturers cut staffing levels
France Synopsis
- Manufacturing down at sharpest rate in 15 months
- New business down 4th month
- Budgets under pressure
- Input costs rising sharply
- Output prices down 27th month and accelerating
- Private sector employment down 9th month
- Service sector activity improved slightly
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