The Angers unemployment rate, for the first time, above the French one

The news will probably harden the exchanges between candidates to the electoral campaign but, above all, worry the inhabitants who have a job or are looking for a job, the companies which have local consumers and the territorial authorities whose revenues are threatened by the economic crisis. Apparently, that one is far from being over in the Angers region. According to the last survey of the Maison de l'emploi d'Angers, the unemployment figures have severely worsened in the area. For the first time, the unemployment rate exceeded the national rate : while the French rate was 10.5% in the second trimester, the Angers rate was 10.6%.

But that news is maybe not the most worrying. During the twelve months before July 2013, the number of unemployed persons increased in the Angers Loire Métropole area by 10.8%. At that period, more than 16 500 persons were out of job in the Angers territory.

Of course, such a trend should trigger debates and accusations among candidates to the municipal elections and their assistants as the late exchange between Daniel Loiseau (supporter of Frédéric Béatse) and Emmanuel Capus (supporter of Christophe Béchu). The unemployment issue, because it has moreover a national extent, could weigh heavily in the outcome of local elections, even if mayors are far from having the power and the resources to fight the plague of unemployment.