Drop is boost for François Hollande, who says he will not stand for re-election without sustained fall in jobless rate

France’s unemployment rate has fallen below 10% for the first time since 2012, offering a boost to François Hollande, who staked his political future on creating more jobs.

The French statistics body Insee said unemployment on mainland France and its overseas territories fell to 9.9% in the second quarter, from 10.2% in the previous three months.

It was the lowest level since the third quarter of 2012, just after Hollande took office. The president said he would not stand for re-election in 2017 unless there was a sustained fall in unemployment this year. However, Hollande’s poor poll ratings indicate that the presidential election will be a contest between the centre-right politician and current favourite, Alain Juppé, and the far-right Front National leader, Marine Le Pen.

Unemployment in France has declined more slowly than in most leading European economies, as a gradual recovery in economic growth and job creation is offset by the number of young people entering the labour force every year.

The jobless rate for mainland France, excluding its overseas territories, dipped below 10% in the fourth quarter of last year and fell further to 9.6% in the three months to the end of June. The number of unemployed people dropped by 74,000 to 2.8 million.

Unemployment was down in all age categories, but the fall in youth unemployment was sharper: it fell 0.4 points to 24.3%, the lowest since 2014.

The percentage of long-term unemployed – those registered as out of work for more than a year – remained stable at 4.3%, however.

Despite the fall, the French unemployment rate remains high compared with some major economies. In the UK, the jobless rate is 4.9%, while 4.2% of people are out of work in Germany.

The employment rate in France was 64.7% in the second quarter, up 0.1 points on the first three months of the year. The biggest increases in employment were among young people and those aged 50 to 64.

