PARIS, France (PNN) - September 27, 2012 - French unemployment topped three million for the first time in over a decade, data showed Wednesday, as the country faces a yawning budget gap like those plaguing its southern eurozone neighbors.

The number of jobless in mainland France swelled to 3.011 million in August - 23,900 more than in July, according to Labor Ministry figures; the first time since 1999 that the figure has breached the three million mark.

Some 4.494 million people, including some who are partially employed, have registered themselves as actively looking for work on the French mainland. This is 40,800 more than in July and a record since the ministry began collecting comparable data in 1991.

With the number of people out of work already reaching 2.99 million in July, the French government had expected a further rise in August, with Labor Minister Michel Sapin saying in early September that the symbolic figure of three million had been breached.

France's central bank this month predicted that the eurozone's second biggest economy would contract by 0.1% in the third quarter after flat-lining for the first half of the year.

Amid the gloom, French consumer confidence slipped two points in September from the previous month, the national statistics office said earlier Wednesday.

In line with a pact agreed to by eurozone leaders earlier this year, France is committed to reducing the size of its deficit from around 4.5% of gross domestic product this year to 3.0% in 2013, and to balance the budget by 2017.

Slashing government overspending is seen as vital to ensure the survival of the euro amid a lingering debt crisis but economists have warned that a sluggish economy and the impact of the planned fiscal measures will make it hard for these targets to be met.