French Jobless Count Rises in October

The number of registered job seekers in France rose slightly in October, statistics showed Friday, the latest indication the job market is lagging a broad economic recovery.

The number of category A job seekers--people registered as fully unemployed--rose 0.2% in October from September to 3,483,600, the labor ministry said.

France's job market is proving hesitant in an otherwise strong economic recovery in France. Gross domestic product is set to grow in 2017 at nearly double the pace recorded in the previous three years and business confidence is at its highest level in a decade.

But the monthly count of job seekers has been volatile in recent months. France's unemployment rate--a separate measure of the health of the job market--rose in the third quarter to 9.7% from 9.5% in the second.

Friday's count showed stronger increases in joblessness among the oldest and youngest workers. The number of category A job seekers rose 0.4% among under-25s and 0.5% among over-50s, the labor ministry said.

Write to William Horobin at william.horobin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 24, 2017 12:32 ET (17:32 GMT)