Unemployment Rates in France Threaten Nation’s Economic Stability
Unemployment Rates in France Threaten Nation’s Economic Stability
Amiti Sharma
France has faced the aftermath from monumental moments, such as the French Revolution, ever since it occurred in years past. However, in recent years, the nation has undergone several changes to reform its society. The French foreign policy has led to an increased factor growth in fiscal policies, and the nation’s public deficit has showed a significant change from 2012 to 2013 by decreasing from 4.5% to 3%. President François Hollande was elected in 2012, and has even claimed to bring soldiers back home from Afghanistan. Still after many of these attempts, a persistent issue that has been detected across French boarders is the increasing rate of unemployment that has maintained a substantial effect on the nation. Therefore, domestic awareness has been risen to determine unemployment rates in previous years, and explore the causes of the ongoing depreciation in employment, the effect it has on the economy and individual households, and possible actions of individuals and the government to solve the issue and increase employment.
Many years ago, in November of 1995, France’s population witnessed a spontaneous growth in unemployment. Claiming the number of citizens out of the work force grew by 28,200, government officials addressed concerns that ultimately led back to France’s economic policy. President Jacques Chirac, however, remained optimistic through the situation, and announced that as long as France’s budget deficit was brought down, turmoil involving the severity of high tax rates during the economic recession would be terminated. France’s economic policy consists of monetary and fiscal policies, and, to reach economic stability, the nation must adhere to expansionary policies that would help eliminate recessionary gap within the economy. France, however, has been experiencing fluctuating levels of employment since even before 1995 which have continued into 2013. Government officials in France have concluded that the increase in unemployment rates resulted from misuse of the nation’s policies, and therefore failed to match up with expected profitable revenue from domestic businesses. In addition, France’s financial advisors have discovered new logical causes that describe the influence on employment rates as well.
During times of recession, cyclical unemployment would drastically decrease employment throughout the population. France endured states of long-term frictional and structural unemployment as well, where people were unable to work due to failure to match workers with specific areas of experience with the correct jobs. In 2007, the French President, Sigolène Royal, reimbursed those who had lost their jobs with 90% of their salary that were earned during the first year of unemployment. However, this action negatively contributed to the nation’s employment rates. When companies oversaw that the unemployed population was making the same salary as those that maintained jobs, people began losing their jobs because employers refused to pay them for labor when they could make the same amount from the government. Moreover, the government had the potential to end up in massive debt because of all the donations they made to the public. Therefore, many attempts to get France back on track to economic stability backfired, and plunged the nation into even deeper turmoil.
The unemployment rates in France have had a negative effect on most aspects of the nation, and the impact it has on the overall economy is no digression. When the population’s labor force is at a lower percentage, those that do not participate in the work force are looked down upon, as opposed to those that have a background of work experience. In an interview with the IZA Program Director for “Labor Markets and Institutions,” Pierre Cahuc describes conflicts that pose a threat to those that do not participate in the work force. He states, “There is a long-term effect…when you are unemployed, when you are young, you are going to be more unemployed when you are older because you don’t accumulate experience.” With an increasing unemployment rate in France, the population is heading towards having a greater percentage of citizens lacking job education and experience. Therefore, the economy will not only lack qualified citizens to hire for employment and run the economy, but will be taking a path farther away from attaining economic stability of any kind.
In 2013, France’s unemployment rate hit one of the highest levels that it has been in the past ten years. As the French population has expressed their concerns for their families’ wages, the government has begun looking into the causes of unemployment to prevent the rates from expanding further, and eventually decrease them altogether. When asked about the current situation in France, Pierre Cahuc expressed his thoughts on how it is each individual’s responsibility to require experience and a foundation to find a place in the work force. He stated, “We have to design an efficient training program that will provide [citizens] with some ability to perform in jobs...people need to improve their individual perspective for their career.” He explains how there is a high rate of people that do not complete a proper education, and thereby fail to accumulate crucial experience for later employment. Therefore, if these individuals are consistent with their education and academic abilities, they are guaranteed for more success in the labor force than those who do not.
As individual citizens were encouraged to take control of their lives and pursue positions that will put at a higher chance for employment, the French government has made changes that will positively affect the current situations as well. “A significant increase in part-time work and employment on fixed-term contracts has also taken place…Firms have favored this development because of the greater flexibility it offers, as have employees themselves, seeking freer, less-formalized working arrangements. The trend has also been encouraged by short-term government measures to reduce unemployment.” Due to the increased interest in employment by French citizens, the government has taken a broader outlook to provide those in need with jobs. While wages and salaries are still regulated, labor productivity has been changed to allow for more positions and less hours to each individual. Therefore, men and women can participate in the work force with a more flexible schedule, yet be reimbursed from being employed. Actions such as this that are taken by the government truly have the potential to turn France’s economic stability around, and lead to the nation’s success.
Once one of the world’s leading empires, the nation’s consistent progression of increasing unemployment rates has led towards downfall. However, lately the government and working-class population have shown a keen interest in working together to find a solution. Therefore, the nation has seen a significant increase in employment within the last several months. With constant regulation and monitoring of the nation’s economic situation, France has turned things around, and is slowly working towards increasing employment within the nation. With more success in future years, the country looks forward to paying off accumulated debt from other nations, including the U.S. While France is now stabilizing its current situation, the nation shows much potential to get back on track, and eventually achieve economic prosperity.
