French jobless rate rises to 9.7 %

The unemployment rate in France in the third quarter of 2011 rose to 9.7 percent, up 0.2 percent from the previous three-month period, the National Statistics Institute (INSEE) said Thursday.Officially, there are 2.6 million jobseekers in France, but INSEE said that broader unemployment data indicate there are as many 3.4 million people who do not have work and want to work.The French Labour Ministry announced only days ago that the number of jobless had risen 1.2 percent in one month.The surge in jobless levels in the third quarter reflects the worsening economic situation in France due to the debt crisis and fears of recession.The unemployment level here has not risen this high since 1999.Separately, the government announced that it was raising Value Added Tax (VAT) in several sectors, some of which benefited from reductions only two years ago.The move is likely to negatively affect consumption, which is the backbone of French domestic growth.