The recovery of the French manufacturing sector continued in January, offering hope to the country's unemployed workers.

CIPD and Markit's final manufacturing purchasing managers' index for January rose to 55.4 from 54.7 in December, which is the sixth successive month that the reading has remained above the 50 mark constituting growth.

The data disclosed that demand improved at the start of 2010 domestically and internationally, which has driven up factory production to its fastest pace in a decade, Reuters reported.

This could lead to greater demand for workers in the industry as manufacturers struggle to fulfil orders in time.

"Data indicated stronger demand from both domestic and foreign clients, with new export orders increasing at the fastest pace for just over three years," the Markit report said.

Last month, data released by employment minister Laurent Wauquiez disclosed that France's unemployment total declined by 18,700 in December - though the politician warned against reading too much into the figures.