Paris (AFP)
Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Saturday that she hoped for a drop in unemployment in 2021, saying "that we could have confidence in the ability of our economy to rebound" after the second confinement.
"I hope that over 2021 unemployment will be able to decrease, of course," she said on France Inter.
In April, after the first confinement, "we had a million more job seekers (without activity)", she recalled and this then "fell by 70%" at the end of October, before the second confinement.
Even if the second confinement "is a shock", Ms. Borne thinks "we can have confidence in the rebound capacity of our economy".
She referred to the "first positive signs" of the youth plan, such as the effects of the bonus of 4,000 euros for hiring a young person under 26 for a contract of more than three months.
"In August-September-October, we had nearly a million hires on fixed-term contracts of more than three months or on permanent contracts. This is the same level as last year," she said.
Faced with the rise of social plans, she also called for the "responsibility" of large companies not to lay off.
"For those who do not have a knife under their throat, I invite them not to initiate layoff plans when the labor market is more difficult, it is a question of responsibility", she judged .
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