French economy is getting more powerful: INSEE report

NewsBharati    16-Feb-2018
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Paris, February 16: Long seen as the weakest of Europe's major economies, French GDP is expanding at its highest rate in years, with optimism underpinned by the pro-business agenda being implemented by the government.

Statistics agency INSEE said Thursday that unemployment had fallen to 8.9 percent nationwide in the final quarter of 2017, down 0.7 percentage points to its lowest level since 2009.

The uptick in the jobs market has led some companies to warn about skills shortages, a dramatic turnaround for an economy that has consistently lagged its better performing neighbours.

"We need to recognise clearly the quality and the ambition of the reforms that have been started," Christine Lagarde said on Thursday during a visit to the economy ministry in Paris.

Macron, a 40-year-old centrist elected in May, has promised a "transformation" of the economy and social system to make France an easier place to start companies and more attractive for investors.

His first annual budget cut taxes on companies and profits on financial investments, while his government is preparing a second wave of reforms focused on improving training for workers and the unemployed.

Economic growth is forecast to be around 2.0 percent in 2018, while the expansion of 1.9 percent in 2017 was the highest level in six years, according to INSEE.