French monthly unemployment figures see biggest drop since 2007 crisis

The number of registered unemployed in France recorded in September its biggest monthly drop since the global economic crisis began in 2007, data showed Monday.

The shortening of the jobless queue by 23,800, or 0.7 percent, was the biggest monthly improvement in recent years save for statistical glitch in August 2013.

Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri welcomed the fact that for the first time since 2011 that the number of jobless had dropped over a four-month period.

However, over a year the number of unemployed was still up by 3.1 percent, and including those working a few hours in the past month was still at a record 5.4 million.

With one in 10 French unemployed, President Francois Hollande has staked his political future on reducing unemployment, saying he will not stand for re-election in 2017 unless he begins to bring down unemployment that has been on the rise for the better part of a decade.

Since Hollande took office in 2012 amid the eurozone's enduring debt crisis and economic lethargy, a total of around 650,000 people have registered as unemployed in France.