Figures released in New Caledonia show that the number of strike days last year was on a per capita basis 200 times higher than in mainland France.
The figures published by the local daily paper also show that taking into account the closure of working places as a result of blockades, New Caledonia had 800 times the losses incurred in France.
The number of people taking part in strikes dropped from 2005 to last year but the virulence of their action increased.
Meanwhile, official figures show that last year the number of job seekers had dropped for the fourth year running.
The number of people looking for work has dropped by about a third over the period 2002 to 2006.
Many jobs have been created in the nickel sector but about 2,000 positions are expected to be lost next year when the Goro plant has been built.
