France unemployment falling; job market stabilises

France's Finance Minister, Christine Lagarde, said the "job market is stabilising" and added that the Ministry is predicting a total of 71,000 jobs will be lost in 2010, mostly in 1H2010, after 373,000 jobs were shed in 2009 (Bloomberg, 02-Sep-2010). Separately, France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) stated (02-Sep-2010) France's unemployment rate unexpectedly fell for the first time in two years in 2Q2010, declining to 9.7% from 9.9% in 1Q2010.