PARIS (Reuters) - The French jobless total eased back in August from a record high reached in July, breaking a nine month streak of increases and offering President Francois Hollande a rare glimmer of hope on the unemployment front.
The Labour Ministry said the jobless total in mainland France fell by 11,100 to 3,413,300, down 0.3 percent over one month, but up 5.1 percent over one year. The fall was the first decrease in since October 2013.
Hollande has seen his popularity fall to record lows for a modern French leader as he failed to live up to promises to get unemployment falling.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Nicholas Vinocur)