France: household morale down for the seventh consecutive month
Consumers shop in a supermarket in Langueux, western France, on January 29, 2022. AFP - DAMIEN MEYER
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2 mins
French morale put to the test by the crisis.
According to INSEE data published on Wednesday July 27, household confidence fell for the seventh consecutive month with an indicator that fell by two points.
Despite a dynamic job market and 26,900 fewer unemployed in the second quarter, the French are depressed.
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When the household confidence indicator is above 100, it means that they have confidence in the economy.
Conversely
, below this bar, the score indicates mistrust.
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To listen: France in "war economy"?
The statistics for July stand at 80, proof of the concern of the French.
However, another indicator, that of unemployment, shows a good performance,
at 7.3% of the active population in France (excluding Mayotte)
.
According to figures from the Ministry of Labor, the number of job seekers continues to decline with a drop of 0.8% in the second quarter, and 15% over one year.
But despite this positive result, the French are depressed.
A paradox explained to us by Eric Delannoy, the president of the Tenzing-Conseil firm: “
There is a huge gap, and this is what these figures indicate, between the perception of some French people and the economic reality of what is happening.
The anxiety-provoking discourse around inflation, which was maintained in a political climate which is the one we have known, led people to think that inflation was going to prevent many French people from consuming, that they were no longer going to be able to feed themselves at the end of the month, you won't be able to get around by car anymore and this inevitably affects household morale... Whereas the objective reality is that we are in a situation of full employment, and this situation of full employment means that the unemployment is falling, and that the rest are frictions that must be successfully managed.
»
The household confidence index remains an important barometer, it indicates in the short term the intentions of the French in terms of savings and consumption.
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Economy