PARIS, May 24 (Reuters) – French industrial morale held steady in May but weakened in the services sector, data published on Thursday showed, in a possible sign of slowdown in the economic recovery.
Morale in the industrial sector stood at 109 points in May, unchanged from April and above a forecast of 108 points in a Reuters poll of economists, the data from the official statistics body INSEE showed.
The measure of morale in the services sector fell to 103 points from 107 in April, an 11-month low, and INSEE cited a generally less favourable jobs climate.
Data earlier this week showed a slight rise in French unemployment in the first three months of the year, suggesting that President Emmanuel Macron’s policies to boost jobs and growth may be struggling to find traction.
For details from INSEE: https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques?debut=0&collection=5
For a graphic: http://reut.rs/2DErm7G
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta Editing by Gareth Jones)
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