PARIS: Unemployment in France hit a new record in October, with official statistics published on Thursday showing 3.46 million people claiming jobless benefits.

The figures showed a rise of 28,400 people on the jobless queue compared to the previous month and came as President Francois Hollande marks the midway point in his troubled mandate.

The unemployment numbers were up 0.8 per cent compared to September and 5.5pc in comparison to the previous year. “This is the biggest monthly rise since last February,” said Bruno Ducoudre, an economist at the French Economic Observatory (OFCE) think-tank.

“Weak growth continues to weigh” on the unemployment figures, said Ducoudre, warning that French companies had 230,000 staff too many.

In a mid-term interview earlier this month, Hollande said he would not stand again for the French presidency in 2017 if he had not managed to live up to his promise to bring down unemployment by then.

France’s economy is barely growing, showing a gain of 0.3pc in the third quarter. The government is Paris has forecast 0.4pc growth for the full year.

Many economists believe an average of 1.5pc growth is needed to reduce unemployment.

Even France’s own economy minister Emmanuel Macron has admitted that the economy is “sick”.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2014