Learn Hardcore French: Dans ce pays, le chômage baisse au nord mais reste élevé au sud. - In this country, unemployment is going down in the north but remains high in the south.

Dans ce pays literally means “inside this country” and is the normal, neutral way to say “in this country” when you point to a specific country already known in the context.

en ce pays exists, but in modern French it sounds literary/old-fashioned or deliberately poetic.
With actual country names, French often uses en:
- en France, en Espagne, en Allemagne.
  But with the generic word pays, the natural choice in everyday language is dans ce pays.
dans le pays would be “in the country” (this country, or the country in general) but without the demonstrative idea of this; ce makes it clearly this country (here/that we’re talking about).

Why is there a comma after Dans ce pays?

Dans ce pays is a fronted phrase that sets the scene (a place expression at the beginning of the sentence). French usually places a comma after such an introductory element:

Dans ce pays, le chômage baisse…
En général, il fait froid ici.

The comma marks a small pause in speech and helps readability. The sentence would still be grammatically correct without it, but the comma is standard style.

Why do we say le chômage with le? Why not just chômage?

In French, when you talk about something in a general, abstract way (a concept, a social phenomenon, etc.), you usually use the definite article:

Le chômage = unemployment (as a general phenomenon)
La pauvreté = poverty
La pollution = pollution

So le chômage baisse means “unemployment is going down” in general, not “some unemployment” or “a specific unemployment”.

Leaving the article out (chômage baisse) is not correct here.

Is baisse here a verb or a noun? How can I tell?

Here baisse is a verb: the 3rd person singular of baisser (“to go down, to decrease”).

You can tell because:

It comes right after the subject: le chômage baisse (“unemployment decreases”).
There is no article before baisse.
As a noun it would normally appear with an article:
- la baisse du chômage = the fall/drop in unemployment.

So:

le chômage baisse → verb (baisser)
la baisse du chômage → noun (baisse)

Could we also say Le chômage est en baisse? Is it the same meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Le chômage baisse.
Le chômage est en baisse.

Both mean that unemployment is going down.

Nuance:

Le chômage baisse is a bit more direct and dynamic; it presents the decrease as an action/process.
Le chômage est en baisse is a little more descriptive; it presents the decrease as a state or trend.

In everyday speech, the difference is small; both are very common.

Why do we say au nord and au sud? What is au here?

Au is the contraction of à + le:

à + le nord → au nord
à + le sud → au sud

Here au nord and au sud mean “in the north (of the country)” and “in the south (of the country)” in a general, regional sense.

You will see similar patterns:

au nord de la ville = to/in the north of the city
au sud de la France = in/to the south of France

What’s the difference between au nord and dans le nord?

Both can often be used, but there is a slight nuance:

au nord = in the northern part / in the north (as a region or direction)
dans le nord = inside the north(ern part) more explicitly, “within the northern region”

In this sentence:

Dans ce pays, le chômage baisse au nord…
Dans ce pays, le chômage baisse dans le nord…

Both are understandable. Au nord is a bit lighter and very idiomatic when contrasting regions. Dans le nord du pays would sound slightly more concrete and geographical: “in the north of the country”.

Why is it reste élevé and not reste élevée or something else?

The adjective élevé must agree with the noun it describes, which is le chômage (masculine singular):

le chômage → masculine singular
→ élevé (masc. sg.)

If the noun were feminine, the adjective would change, e.g.:

la température reste élevée (the temperature remains high)

Here, because chômage is masculine, we must use élevé, not élevée.

Why don’t we repeat le chômage before reste élevé?

French (like English) normally does not repeat the subject when two verbs share the same subject and are joined by a conjunction like mais (“but”):

Le chômage baisse au nord mais (le chômage) reste élevé au sud.

The part in parentheses is understood and therefore omitted. Repeating it would sound heavy and overly repetitive unless you wanted a very strong emphasis or a contrast like:

Le chômage baisse au nord, mais le chômage des jeunes reste élevé.

In that modified example, you repeat the noun because you are introducing a new, more specific idea.

Could we say …mais il reste élevé au sud instead of …mais reste élevé au sud?

Yes, that is also correct:

Dans ce pays, le chômage baisse au nord mais il reste élevé au sud.

Here il refers back to le chômage. Both versions are fine:

…mais reste élevé au sud. (subject understood)
…mais il reste élevé au sud. (subject made explicit)

Adding il can sound a bit clearer, especially in longer or more complex sentences.

What tense are baisse and reste, and what idea of time do they express?

Baisse and reste are in the présent de l’indicatif (present indicative).

In this context, the French present indicates:

a current, ongoing situation or trend:
Le chômage baisse → it is currently going down.
reste élevé → it is still high now.

Like in English, the French present can cover meanings like “is falling” and “falls” depending on context.

Could we change the word order, for example: Au nord, le chômage baisse?

Yes, several word orders are possible, with slight changes in emphasis. For example:

Au nord, le chômage baisse, mais il reste élevé au sud.
- Emphasis first on the northern region.
Dans ce pays, au nord le chômage baisse mais au sud il reste élevé.
- Strong contrast between north and south.
Original: Dans ce pays, le chômage baisse au nord mais reste élevé au sud.
- Emphasis first on le chômage, then on how it differs by region.

All are grammatically correct; the choice is mainly about style and what you want to highlight.

Are there any tricky pronunciation points or liaisons in this sentence?

Yes, a few things to watch:

dans → /dɑ̃/ (nasal vowel, you don’t pronounce the final s)
pays → /pe.i/ (two syllables: pay‑ee)
chômage → /ʃo.maʒ/ (the ch is like sh; final ge = /ʒ/ as in measure)
baisse → /bɛs/ (like “bess”)
nord → /nɔʁ/ (you hear the r; the d is silent)
reste → /ʁɛst/
élevé → /el.ve/
sud → /syd/

Liaisons (where one word’s final consonant links to the next word’s vowel):

baisse au nord → often pronounced with liaison: /bɛs‿o nɔʁ/ (you hear the s before au)
reste élevé → many speakers will make a liaison: /ʁɛst‿elve/ (you hear the t before élevé)

There is no liaison in le chômage baisse (the final sound of chômage is already a consonant /ʒ/).

Why ce pays and not ce pays-ci or ce pays-là?

ce pays = this country (neutral; context tells which one)
ce pays-ci = this country here (insisting on closeness)
ce pays-là = that country there (insisting on distance or distinction from another one)

In normal written or spoken French, ce pays is usually enough. You only add -ci or -là when you really need to contrast or insist:

Ce pays-ci est riche, mais ce pays-là est pauvre.
This country here is rich, but that one there is poor.

In your sentence, ce pays is the natural, default choice.