The unemployment rate in France's mainland stands at 9.1 percent in the third quarter, virtually stable compared to the second quarter, the official statistics bureau INSEE announced on Thursday.

There were 2.58 million people registered jobless in the third quarter, marking a first flat of unemployment rate from the end of last March.

The 2008 first quarter witnessed a unemployment rate of near seven percent, a record low in the past 25 years. However, during the following one year and a half, the number of jobless people in mainland France increased by 60,000.

Although the unemployment didn't go worse and the economy showed timid but consecutive resilience in the past two quarters, the recession still has great pressure to French labor market.

Right in October, the number of jobless people surged more than50,000, totaling the unemployed population in the mainland to 2.63million and pushing the rate close to 9.3 percent.

The European Commission forecasted early this month that France will experience this year an economic contraction by 2.2 percent, with an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent at the year end. It also predicted an economic growth of 1.2 percent next year for France, but the unemployment rate will climb further to 10.2 percent.

French Primer Minister Francois Fillon has made it clear that if France couldn't realize a growth of over two percent, new job opportunities are hard to see.