New Caledonia's good performance on jobs

Helene Hofman, Noumea

Last Updated: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:22:00 +1100

New figures on employment released by New Caledonia's Institute of Statistics show the French territory has weathered the global financial crisis better than most.

New Caledonia's economy is largely dependent on the nickel industry.

Despite last year's downturn in commodity prices, it appears the territory has escaped the worst, with the number of job offers up 5.4 per cent for 2009.

Unemployment in the North Province has traditionally been high, but a number of mining-related projects means that in some areas demand for workers has soared.

Only the remote Loyalty Islands have experienced little to no increase in job offers.

The unemployment rate across the territory now stands at 6.4 per cent.

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