* Service sector activity strongest since Sept 2000
* Hiring speeds up, but price pressures also rise
PARIS, May 4 (Reuters) - French service sector activity grew faster in April than in any month since the dot.com boom at the turn of the century, pointing to stronger economic growth in the second quarter, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The Markit/CDAF services purchasing managers' index (PMI), rose to 62.9 in April from 60.4 the previous month. Anything over 50 indicates expansion, suggesting a recovery that began in September 2009 remains under way.
April's final figure fell slightly short of an initial estimate of 63.4 but was still the highest reading since September 2000.
Strong service sector activity helped lift the overall composite PMI, which includes the manufacturing sector, also to the highest level since September 2000.
It rose to 62.4 in April, in line with an initial estimate and up from 59.1 in March.
"PMI data suggested a quarterly expansion of GDP in the region of 0.7 to 0.8 percent in the first quarter (from the previous quarter) and the latest figures indicate a further building of momentum at the start of the second quarter," Markit economist Jack Kennedy said.
The French economy grew 0.4 percent in the final three months of 2010 from the previous quarter, giving growth for the whole of 2010 of 1.5 percent.
Battling stubbornly high unemployment, the government is targeting growth this year of 2.0 percent, higher than the consensus forecast of 1.7 percent in a Reuters poll of 20 economists.
In a promising sign for growth, the PMI survey indicated hiring in the service sector had picked up to 53.7 -- the highest since September 2010 -- from 51.5 in March. That helped lift the composite employment index to the highest level since March 2008. It rose to 53.7 from 51.7 in March.
However, Kennedy said: "rising cost pressures remain a significant concern for firms and could limit companies' willingness and ability to add staff in substantial numbers even if current strong activity trends are maintained." (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Stephen Nisbet)