France's headline jobless rate rose for the fourth consecutive month in September to 9.1 per cent from 9.0 per cent in August as struggling firms continued to cut jobs, the Labour Ministry said today.
The headline rate had risen in June for the first time in almost three years after holding at an 18-year low of 8.7 per cent from March until May.
The number of unemployed on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) count rose by a higher-than-expected 31,000, a 1.3 per cent month-on-month increase and the fifth straight monthly rise. This raised the total number of unemployed to 2.43 million.
Until the latest rises, brisk economic growth has helped France trim unemployment lines almost continuously since June 1997, when the Socialist-led government inherited a 12.6 per cent jobless rate.
However a spate of factory closures and lay-offs has sparked concerns that a US-led global economic slowdown, compounded by the September 11th attacks on the United States, could trigger a recession in the euro zone's second largest economy.
Recent economic figures have painted a mixed picture, with consumer spending remaining robust in September despite the attacks and business morale stable in October, though consumer confidence fell in September to its lowest level since May 1998.
The French figures chimed with news from neighbouring Germany, where the number of unemployed rose by 20,000 in September from August, pushing the headline rate to 9.4 per cent.