French unemployment reached its highest level since 1998 in the first quarter of 2013, data released Thursday showed, with the number of people out of work in Europe’s second-largest economy increasing by 0.3 percentage points to 10.4 per cent.
If overseas territories are also included, the headline figure for the January-March period rises to 10.8 per cent, reported the statistics agency Insee, using calculation methods from the International Labour Organisation.
Eurostat, the European Union statistics agency, estimates French unemployment at 11 per cent.
The French economy dipped into recession in the first quarter for the first time since 2009.
The government has said it expects the unemployment rate to continue to climb through the end of 2013. According to Labour Ministry figures, 3.26 million people were without a job at the end of April.