Flat French payrolls threatens 2005 growth outlook

French non-farm payrolls were flat in the fourth quarter of 2004 and rose just 0.3 percent during the year, prompting economists to warn the French recovery could stall if the economy continued to fail to create jobs. State statistics body INSEE said non-farm payrolls stood at 15,430,800 at the end of December, undershooting the consensus forecast of a 0.1 percent rise by 23 analysts polled by Reuters.
Conservative Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has pledged to cut unemployment to around 9 percent this year from close to 10 percent, a Herculean task given the unspectacular growth of 2.5 percent he is targeting for 2005.