French jobless rate hits record high in November

Unemployment figures in France hit a record high in November, as the euro zone's second-biggest economy faced a double threat of spiralling debt crisis, according to official data released yesterday.

The number of unemployed rose by 29,900, or 1.1 per cent, to 2.85 million in November, an increase of 5.2 per cent from the same month last year, according to figures of the French labour ministry.

The ministry said the total job demands rose to 2.844 million, the highest in France since November 1999.

"We took note of the increasing number of job seekers which was a direct result of the slowing economic activity," Labour minister Xavier Bertrand said in a statement.

By the third quarter of 2011,  the jobless rate in France had inched up by 2 percentage points to reach 9.3 per cent in the backdrop of the global economic recession.

The French government will hold a meeting focusing on unemployment on 18 January 2012.

Commentators say the latest results will be a drawback for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is seeking a second term in April next year.