French jobs setback

UNEMPLOYMENT is on the rise in France and Italy – undermining claims that the eurozone is on the road to recovery.

The joblessness rate in France rose from 9.6pc in June to 9.8pc in July, according to official statistics agency Eurostat.

In Italy, the unemployment rate rose from 11.2pc to 11.3pc. The figures underline the crisis blighting vast swathes of the single currency bloc. Unemployment in the eurozone remained at 9.1pc last month and is 4.4pc in the UK.

The eurozone economy grew by 0.6pc in the second quarter of the year – double the 0.3pc rate of expansion seen in the UK. In all, 14.9m people in the single currency bloc are out of work.