PARIS (Reuters) – French unemployment fell in the first quarter to an 11-year low as people without work were unable to seek jobs once France entered a coronavirus lockdown, the INSEE stats agency said on Thursday.
The jobless rate fell to 7.8% from 8.1% in the fourth quarter, hitting its lowest since late 2008, INSEE’s quarterly unemployment survey found.
France’s nationwide lockdown, which started on March 17, reduced the number of those normally classified as unemployed by making it impossible for them to look for work, INSEE said.
Measures of unemployment usually exclude those who say they have stopped looking for jobs.
In the period before the lockdown, the unemployment rate was 8.2%, INSEE said.