French government to pay employer salaries

The Associated Press

August 30, 2012

PARIS — The French government wants companies to hire young people so much that it’s offering to pick up the tab.

The new Socialist president, Francois Hollande, told his Cabinet Wednesday that he wants to wage a war on unemployment and unveiled a plan for the government to pay most of the salaries of tens of thousands of young people hired next year.

Unemployment in France is 10 percent, but nearly 23 percent for those under the age of 25. That’s an imbalance that many European countries are struggling with: In Spain, youth unemployment is over 52 percent; it’s 34 percent in Italy.

— Compiled from Associated Press Reports

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