The French unemployment rate in October increased 2 percent from September and saw a year-on-year growth of 25 percent, the employment ministry announced Thursday.
In October alone, 52,400 people lost their jobs, making the total number of jobless hit 2,627,300 in the country.
The noticeable rise following five months of restriction showed the impact of the economic crisis on the labor market, Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said in a statement.
Although the government has taken a series of stimulus measures to spur the labor market, positive reactions may take time to emerge.
The construction sector, the biggest contributor to the labor market, saw a 7.1 percent loss in this year's turnover, leading to 50,000 layoffs. For next year, the French construction union has predicted a contraction of 3.1 percent.
The French Secretary of State for Employment, Laurent Wauquiez, said the decreasing trend would last for a few quarters as the gradual resilience of market activity would not affect employment immediately.
France's budget plan has set a benchmark of 0.75 percent economic growth for 2010. However, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said a reduction in the unemployment rate might need a growth of between 1.5 and 2 percent./.