The jobless rate in France climbed by 0.7 percent to 9.6 percent, ending nine consecutive months of falling unemployment in the country, according to data released by the French Labor Ministry on Thursday.

The figures showed the number of jobseekers after full-time work, the official barometer of unemployment, stood at 2,326,900 at the end of January.

People below 25 years old continue to hold on to the highest unemployment rate of all working age groups. Figures showed that 22.8 percent of the young active population are jobseekers while the jobless rate stood at 8.7 percent for people aged 25 to 49, and 6.9 percent for those over 50.

The International Labour Bureau, which measures unemployment differently from the French government, also put the jobless rate in January at 9.6 percent but said it was equal to the November level.

The 2005 jobless rate declined by 5.2 percent from the previous year.

Source: Xinhua