PARIS, Feb. 27 -- France saw a 0.5-percent rise in the number of unemployed people in January from December last year, government data showed on Friday.

According to Labor Ministry figures, the number of people seeking for jobs in France's mainland last month stood at more than 2.681 million, or 13,400 more than the previous month.

Year on year, the French unemployed population grew by 6.2 percent.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed a reform on social VAT in order to create more jobs. The reform was expected to create up to 120,000 jobs and bolster competitiveness of local companies.