France jobless rate at record high, more than 2.9 mn now unemployed

The unemployment rate in France inched up by 0.8 per cent in June compared with the previous month, reaching a record high since August 1999.

In June, 23,700 more people reported without work, making the total number of unemployed more than 2.9 million in France mainland, the labour ministry said.

Year-on-year, the jobless rose 7.8 per cent over the same period last year, reported Xinhua.

The figure marked the 14th consecutive monthly increase.

"In the face of this situation, the government is fully mobilised," the labour ministry said in a statement.