July 26, 2014 - 15:28 AMT
French unemployment rate hits new high in June

The number of people without a job in France rose in June to a new record, Euronews reports.

The Labor Ministry said the unemployment total in mainland France rose by 9,400 to 3,398,300.

That is a 4.0 percent increase on June last year and up 0.3 percent from May, viewed as another blow to Socialist President Francois Hollande, whose popularity has plummeted as he has failed to come good on promises to get more people into work.

Hollande is hoping plans to phase out 30 billion euros of payroll taxes will get companies investing and hiring.

The Labor Ministry said the number of job offers received by the state employment agency had risen 5.4 percent in June from May.