(Repeats to detach from text of earlier report) * FTSEurofirst 300 ends down 1.3 pct * U.S. unemployment rate hits sentiment * Financials top losers; commodities gain By Sitaraman Shankar LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - European shares ended lower after a volatile session on Friday as U.S. unemployment at a 25-year high underlined economic worries and investors dumped financial stocks. The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares ended 1.3 percent lower at 662.13 points, having fluctuated between a gain of 0.9 percent and a fall of 1.5 percent to a fresh 12-year, or lifetime, low. Banks and insurers were the worst losers, with Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), AXA (AXAF.PA), ING (ING.AS) and HSBC (HSBA.L) falling 4.4-6.6 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate hit 8.1 percent as employers buckling under the strain of a severe recession axed 651,000 jobs, government data showed. Adding to the gloom, a combined 161,000 more jobs were lost in January and December than previously believed. Since the start of the recession in December 2007 the U.S. economy has shed 4.4 million jobs. "The newsflow coming out of the U.S. is universally negative at the moment and consensus GDP estimates will continue to be revised down," said Darren Winder, equity strategist at Cazenove. "Unless we have stability in profit estimates it's difficult to see a sustainable rally." The White House said that the job figures underscored the depth of the current recession. "There is no doubt that we have a long way to go to get this economy moving again and the job numbers are one more reminder of that," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. The FTSEurofirst 300 lost around 8 percent during the week.

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