EconomyEurope

French private sector lost 100K jobs in 2012

amin20130313133939657France lost nearly 100,000 private sector jobs last year as a result of a sluggish economy and persistent unemployment, a new report says.

The National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) said Wednesday that the economic crisis has contributed to massive job cuts and another 75,000 people are likely lose their jobs in the first quarter of this year.

On Thursday, the INSEE said French unemployment rose to 10.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, hitting a 14-year high and seeing an increase of 0.3 percent from the Q3.

A whopping 25 percent of 15- to 24-year-olds were unemployed, making them the worst hit group, said the INSEE.

It is estimated that reversing the unemployment rate will require adding 30 to 40 thousand new jobs every three months.

French President Francois Hollande said last month that the government would not be able to meet the promised unemployment target this year.

French data analyst firm, Trendeo, recently revealed that the country has closed more than 1,000 factories since 2009, with the auto industry and pharmaceutical companies suffering the heaviest losses.

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