PARIS: French consumers showed more pessimism about the economy in February with the monthly sentiment indicator declining to 95, two points down from January, mainly on rising unemployment fears, the national statistics bureau Insee said on Wednesday.
The households’ sentiment of their future personal financial situation over the period lost two points to minus 10, with their attitudes toward the general economy deteriorating by 7 points after it had improved by five points in January, Insee’s figures showed.
Worries about a lasting depressed labor market was the major concern for most French families. Households expected an increase in unemployment, which was reflected in the indicator rising 13 points from the previous month, to 46 points.
According to the labor ministry’s monthly data, more than 3.59 million people on the French mainland were reported to be jobless in December, up 0.4 percent compared to November data.
In his last chance to deliver on his promise to lower the unemployment rate, French President Francois Hollande unveiled a plan last month worth 2 billion euros (2.19 billion U.S. dollars) to create more jobs. The plan included improving training for 500,000 unemployed people and offering incentives to encourage recruitment.
