Unemployment in France dipped just a shade below 10% in the second quarter of this year.
It was the first time since 2012 that the rate has nudged below 10%.
The drop was likely to have brought some relief to President Hollande, who pledged some time ago that he would bring the level down and would not stand for re-election in 2017 without a marked improvement in the rate.
Unemployment data for mainland France and its overseas territories went down to 9.9% in the three months to June. In the preceding three months of the year it stood at 10.2%, according to the official statistics.
This was the lowest level since September 2012, just after Hollande was sworn in.
Youth unemployment saw the merest decline, leaving the rate at 24.3%.
The jobless rate has remained budget little in the last four years and its decline has been longer in coming than in most major European economies. The French economy has had periods of stagnation and each year the number of young people entering the labour market has been greater than the number of jobs created and the number of people retiring.
