Macron sees no immediate boost to job creation following labor reform

PARIS, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The labor reform in France is not likely to improve the domestic job market for some time but will surely help create more jobs over the five-year-term of this government, President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday.

"The decisions we made at the beginning of the five-year period have no immediate impact," Macron told France 2 television in an interview.

"This reform will bear fruits, that's for sure within five years. But, we have to wait two years for it to begin to have its full effects," he added.

Three months after he took office in May, the French head of state enacted legislation to lessen rigid labor rules, making it easier for companies to hire and fire employees, and allowing them more freedom in terms of pay and working conditions.

The reform, which he said was crucial to the vitality of the local job market, had prompted massive street protests that overshadowed his public support for months.

"I took my responsibilities. I made immediately the most important reform that had been avoided in France for 20 years," Macron said.

Macron aims to reduce the country's jobless rate to 7 percent by 2022 from the current level of 9.4 percent.

Over the past four decades, unemployment has been a major issue troubling the French public and a slew of hosts in the Elysee Palace.

Macron's predecessor Francois Hollande was forced not to seek a second term as he failed to bring down the jobless rate as promised. Enditem