France takes extra measures to help jobless youth

France is preparing a 500 million euro ($729 million) emergency package to help young jobseekers, who have been hardest hit by the economic crisis, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday.

The plan foresees expanding special unemployment benefits that used to be reserved for jobless French over the age of 25 to younger age groups.

It will also provide additional scholarships, voluntary gap years and job programmes for young people.

"The young are the first victims of our collective failure to reform, to tear down the walls," Sarkozy said in a speech, citing the barrier between France's well-protected permanent employees and precarious, temporary workers.

The measures add to a 1.3 billion euro emergency plan announced in April to tackle youth unemployment.

Unemployment among 15 to 24-year-olds in France rose to 24.6 percent in the second quarter of 2009, from 23.1 percent in the previous quarter. That compared with a total unemployment rate of 9.5 for all of France, government data showed in September.

Earlier this year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warned France of a "lost generation" of young people entering the dire job market in 2009.

At the time, the OECD recommended deeper structural reforms of France's rigid labour market and educational system.

"Young people of my generation had the ambition to achieve a higher social status than our parents, whereas today, many young people actually fear that their social status will be lower," Sarkozy said.

The "revenu de solidarite active", a type of unemployment benefit introduced this year for poorer jobseekers over the age of 25, will now cover all unemployed over the age of 18 who have worked for at lease two years in the past three years.

This extension is expected to cost 250 million euros.

The president's office said the measures would be financed using existing funds set aside for benefits payments and social investment, and would not require raising further funds.