The French Labour Ministry announced Thursday that the month of October showed a significant worsening of France's dire unemployment situation. In one month, 42,000 more people registered as fully unemployed jobseekers, bringing the total number of jobseekers to 3,589,800, reported MarketWatch.
The unemployment figures had declined in September but rose to new levels last month. The October rise was the largest reported in two years, noted NewEurope.
French unemployment rate stands at 11.9 percent as of October. Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri is unhappy with these numbers but says that they "must be interpreted with care because the results of the past few months have had major variations."
While the French economy is currently in its strongest year since 2012, the job market has not kept up with this progress, noted MarketWatch.
Unemployment rates have soared in the past decade, according to France24, and President Francois Hollande has said that he will not run for re-election in 2017 if he is not able to improve the employment situation. He plans to implement policies like job subsidies and tax breaks for employers to try and remedy the issue.
The government had put the controversial Macron law into place in August to try and boost employment rates. Among other policies, the law allowed shops to open on Sundays and deregulated certain professions, according to NewEurope.
The labour ministry stated that they hope that 2016 will be a better year for France's jobseekers and that the unemployment rates will decline.
