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By Anna Willard
PARIS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - France's unemployment rate rose slightly in the third quarter, according to official data on Thursday, as companies cut jobs in response to the financial crisis and a slowing economy.
The unemployment rate climbed to 7.7 percent from an unrevised 7.6 percent in the second quarter, national statistics office INSEE said.
Economists have been expecting the number of jobless in France to climb after the economy contracted in the second quarter and narrowly escaped recession with growth of just 0.1 percent in the third.
"The economy is undergoing a strong slowdown even if we're not officially in recession," said Dominique Barbet, economist at BNP Paribas.
"The situation is quite clear and the deterioration of the job market is tangible. The result is that the unemployment rate is rising."
The unemployment rate excluding France's overseas territories also climbed to 7.3 percent from 7.2 percent in the second quarter.
INSEE no longer publishes a monthly unemployment figure after a controversy over the method of calculation in 2006.
However, the European Union statistics office Eurostat does and it said on Nov. 28 that the jobless rate rose to 8.2 percent in October from 8.0 percent in September, putting France above the euro zone rate of 7.7 percent.
"Even if INSEE underestimates slightly that increase, the rate is going to continue to rise," Barbet said.
STIMULUS
President Nicolas Sarkozy's government has also forecast a worsening job market but Economy Minister Christine Lagarde played down the rise.
"The unemployment rate in metropolitan France rose slightly in the third quarter despite a difficult economic context," her office said in a statement.
Sarkozy will unveil measures later on Thursday to help France withstand the crisis and is expected to announce steps to help the car and construction sectors where several companies are making steep job cuts.
Sarkozy will speak at a Renault
Renault is planning 6,000 job cuts across Europe while PSA
Peugeot-Citroen
French property group Nexity
France is also hoping for help from the European Central Bank which is meeting on Thursday and is expected cut interest rates for the third time in less than two months. It is expected to cut by at least 50 basis points.
"Given that there are no real growth prospects, inflation is not a concern today, and with people even worrying about deflation, the ECB has a role to play to re-launch the economy," said Bruno Cavalier, economist at Oddo. (Additional reporting by Brian Rohan and Veronique Tison, editing by Mike Peacock/Toby Chopra)