March 5 (Bloomberg) -- France’s unemployment rate rose more than expected in the fourth quarter amid a deepening economic slump.

The jobless rate rose to 8.2 percent, the highest since the third quarter of 2007, from a revised 7.6 percent in the third quarter 2008, Paris-based Insee, the country’s economic statistics office, said today. Economists expected joblessness to increase to 7.9 percent, according to the median of eight estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Excluding France’s overseas territories, the unemployment rate climbed to 7.8 percent from a 25-year low of 7.2 percent.

“The employment situation of the youth is particularly worrying,” Laurent Wauquiez, the labor minister, said March 4.

The French economy may lose 350,000 jobs in 2009 as it faces the worst recession since World War II. The number of unemployed seeking a full-time, permanent contract increased by 90,200 in January to 2.2 million, the biggest gain since the start of available data in 1991 and the ninth straight monthly increase, the government said on Feb. 25.

To contact the reporter on this story: Francois de Beaupuy in Paris at fdebeaupuy@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 5, 2009 02:50 EST