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DE RUEHFR #4546/01 1811514
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301514Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9181
INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES

UNCLAS PARIS 004546 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS FEDERAL RESERVE 
PASS CEA 
STATE FOR EB and EUR/WE 
TREASURY FOR DO/IM 
TREASURY ALSO FOR DO/IMB AND DO/E WDINKELACKER 
USDOC FOR 4212/MAC/EUR/OEURA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN ECON PGOV FR ELAB
SUBJECT:  FRENCH UNEMPLOYMENT: THE NEVERENDING STORY 
 
 
¶1. Summary: The drop in the French unemployment rate to 9.1 percent 
could be due to GOF policies, as the GOF claims.  It also might be 
due to an aging workforce beating an early retreat to retirement. 
And it might be due to statistical corrections.  But the fact 
remains that the youth unemployment rate exceeds 20 percent and the 
long-term unemployment rate is 30 percent.  Job creation in the 
private sector has been moderate, and many workers are turning to 
part-time work or multiple jobs, feeding a sense of insecurity 
despite other signs of economic stability.  End summary. 
 
Unemployment Rate Falls to 9.1 percent in April 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶2.  The French unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted - ILO 
definition) dropped to 9.3 percent in May, its lowest level since 
September 2002.  The number of unemployed (seasonally adjusted) fell 
to 2.499 million from 2.544 million in April.  The government 
boasted that over the course of one year there were "258,000 fewer 
unemployed, and the unemployment rate decreased from 10.1 percent in 
May 2005." 
 
Who Benefits the Most: Youth? 
----------------------------- 
¶3.  The total unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) dropped 1.8 
percent in May compared to April, and 9.4 percent compared with 
figures from the previous year.  The sharpest decrease came in the 
under-25 age category, where unemployment fell by 12.6 percent in 
May compared with May 2005, but remained high at 21.9 percent. 
Other age categories experienced less dramatic declines: 
unemployment fell to 8.3 percent for those aged 25 to 49, while that 
figure dropped to 6.3 percent for the 50 and over group. The ranks 
of those affected by long-term unemployment (job seekers looking for 
a job for more than a year), swelled to 707,000.  That accounts for 
a large chunk, 31.9 percent or nearly a third of total unemployment. 
 
 
The Role of Demographics and Statistical Correction 
in the Decrease in Unemployment 
-------------------------------- 
¶4.  The Labor Ministry's most recent data, covering the three months 
ending in May 2006, shows a 6.6 percent decrease in the number of 
new registrations to the National Agency for Employment (ANPE) 
compared to the three months prior.  Analysis suggests that this 
drop-off in new registrations resulted from fewer people being laid 
off or coming to the end of limited employment contracts, which 
appears consistent with the current improvement in the business 
climate.  Interestingly, the number of first-time registrations to 
the ANPE decreased 9.1 percent in the three months ending in May 
compared to the three previous months, probably the result of a 
sizeable demographic effect.  A smaller number of unemployed were 
removed from the ANPE's list in recent months.  A closer inspection, 
however, reveals that removal of people from the unemployment rolls 
increased 5.1 percent on year-over-year basis.  Removals for 
auditing control and administrative removals are sizeable, 
accounting for 58.9 percent of cases in May.  Removals due to 
recruitment of labor and the issuance of training contracts 
accounted for 26.5 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively.  Removals 
related to health, maternity and retirement accounted for 8.7 
percent.  Unemployment statistics also exclude the unemployed aged 
between 57.5 (or in certain cases as young as 54) and 64.  They 
receive unemployment benefits, but are not registered at ANPE as job 
seekers.  Based on a recent Labor Minister survey, they numbered 
400,000 in 2004. 
 
Economists Emphasize Demographic Factors 
---------------------------------------- 
¶5.  Private-sector economists emphasized that the country's aging 
population has been responsible for part of the recent decrease in 
the unemployment rate.  "Baby-boomers," they argued, have begun 
retiring en masse, effectively shrinking the active labor force and, 
along with it, unemployment. Because they started to work at 
extremely young ages, many 60-year-old workers and would-be 
jobseekers are in fact eligible for retirement in 2006. 
 
Opposition and Unions Stress Statistical Correction, 
Point to Increased Poverty 
----------------------------- 
¶6.  Some unions and opposition leaders have argued that the decrease 
in unemployment numbers results from a "correction of data, notably 
through the elimination of job seekers from the ANPE list due to 
stricter regulations to attain unemployment status."  Labor Minister 
Borloo argued in response that there was a decrease in 
administrative removals in April and May, but he failed to mention 
the year-over-year increases.  Unions also emphasized low job 
creation, and an increase in poverty related to long-term 
unemployment.  The long-term unemployed still numbered 707,000 
despite a decrease in May.  Those suffering from long-term 
unemployment are among beneficiaries of a minimum income ("Revenu 
Minimum d'Insertion - RMI") reserved for the poorest in French 
society. 
 
Unemployment Decreases, 
but Job Creation Remains Low 
----------------------------- 
¶7.  Although the total number of unemployed decreased by 210,000 
between Q-1 2005 and Q-1 2006, the numbers suggest that this is only 
marginally attributable to the creation of new jobs. "Employment of 
wage-earners in the non-farm private sector in companies with more 
than 10 employees," the regular quarterly indicator for job 
creation, increased a dismal 0.1 percent (15,300) compared with Q-4 
2005 and 0.4 percent (63,000) observed when compared with Q-1 2005. 
The industrial sector continued to shed jobs, while the construction 
and service sectors were able to create more.  Statistical and 
demographic explanations aside, the apparent discrepancy between the 
drop in unemployment and weak job creation numbers suggests that 
hiring was concentrated either in the public sector or in companies 
with less than 10 employees, neither of which are covered by 
quarterly statistics but could have potentially benefited government 
measures.  Government labor policy and its effects will be examined 
in a separate cable. 
 
Labor Trends in 2005 
-------------------- 
¶8.  INSEE's (the National Institute of Statistics and Economic 
Studies) March 2006 report on the previous year's trends ("2005 
Employment Survey") showed that unemployment decreased 0.1 percent 
to 9.8 percent in 2005 compared with 2004.  This improvement 
concerned primarily young women and women aged 50 and over. At the 
same time, long-term unemployment increased for a second consecutive 
year, also affecting mostly women -- 43.2 percent of women had been 
unemployed for more than a year in 2005, and 21.5 percent had been 
unemployed for more than two years.  Employment did increase at a 
slightly higher pace in 2005 compared to the previous two years, but 
the employment rate decreased to 62.3 percent from the 62.4 percent 
registered in 2004 as the number of people between the ages of 15 
and 64 entering the workforce increased faster than hiring.  The 
service sector continued to create jobs, notably in education, 
health, and social action (80,000) as well as in the administrative 
sector (60,000).  Job creation was dynamic in the finance (60,000) 
and temporary labor sectors (60,000).  Likewise, the real estate 
sector also created 30,000 jobs.  The industrial and agriculture 
sectors, on the other hand, continued to lose jobs -- 60,000 and 
40,000, respectively.  Employment in agriculture dipped to below one 
million for the first time ever in 2004.  Employment in other 
sectors remained unchanged.  Women occupied most of the newly 
created jobs, which more often than not were part-time positions. 
Part-time work in general increased significantly in 2005, with 17.2 
percent of the active population employed part-time compared with 
16.6 percent in 2004, an increase concerning 167,000 workers. 
Under-employment continued to rise as 1,300,000 out of 4,285,000 
employees would have preferred to work more hours, a 40,000 increase 
compared with 2004.  Average work duration for full-time wage 
earners increased to 39 hours per week in 2005, while the official 
workweek remains 35 hours.  The average work week was 40 hours in 
the services-to-individuals, transportation, finance and real estate 
sectors.  For part-time wage earners, the average workweek remained 
unchanged, slightly higher than 23 hours. 
 
¶9.  According to the Employment Survey, over a million workers in 
France, mainly domestic female employees, had more than one employer 
in 2005. Indeed, 1,126,000 wage earners had multiple jobs, including 
783,000 who performed the same job but for several employers, and 
343,000 who had several different jobs altogether.  The portion of 
the population working multiple jobs is sizeable, accounting for 4.8 
percent of the labor force in 2005.  The majority of these workers 
were women with low education aged 40 and over.  They work as 
baby-sitters, nannies and in other domestic positions.  In seven out 
of ten of these cases, the main job is part-time (excluding 
baby-sitting), but not necessarily by choice.  Low wages and job 
insecurity are common with this sort of work.  However, workers with 
several different jobs tend to be more highly educated than those 
who hold only one job, and very often they work part-time by choice. 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶10.  Improvement in unemployment numbers was partially due to 
demographic and statistical corrections, which may not therefore 
have reflected true changes in the labor market.  Moreover, the 
unemployment rate, especially among youth, remained high.  Long-term 
unemployment as a percentage of total unemployment has been above 30 
percent for years.  On a more positive and encouraging note, the 
length of the workweek has increased consistently in the 
job-creating service sector.  The participation of women in the 
workforce has continued to develop.  The fact that more and more 
workers are taking on multiple jobs with lower wages suggests that 
the labor situation is deteriorating rather than improving. End 
comment. 
 
STAPLETON