Number of French job seekers falls for the first time in 2 years

The number of registered job seekers in France fell in August for the first time in more than two years, dropping by 50,000 to 3.23 million, the labour ministry announced Wednesday. But Labour Minister Michel Sapin said a lasting turnaround in unemployment promised by the Socialist government and President Francois Hollande had not yet been achieved. "The results of one month do not represent a turnaround," Sapin said in a statement. Hollande had promised a "lasting inversion of the unemployment curve" by the end of the year. But Sapin welcomed what he termed a "significant" drop in a country where unemployment affects nearly 10.9 percent of the active population. The fall in registered job seekers was the first since May 2011.