By William Horobin

PARIS--The number of registered job seekers in France jumped in October, reversing declines in September to set a new record high, figures showed Thursday.

The number of category A job seekers--defined as registered job seekers who are fully unemployed--rose by 42,000 in October from September to reach 3,589,800. That marked increases of 1.2% on the month and 3.7% on the year.

The rebound in the number of unemployed people casts doubt over the strength of the economic recovery in the eurozone's second-largest economy.

After a week second quarter, recent figures showed gross domestic product expanded in the third quarter, putting the French economy on track to record its strongest year since Francois Hollande took office in 2012. But Thursday's unemployment figures indicate that the job market isn't following suit.

The constant rise in unemployment is a thorn in Mr. Hollande's side just as opinion polls show his popularity is increasing after he implemented hard-line security measures and stepped up a bombing campaign against Islamic State in response to this month's Paris terror attacks.

The French leader has said he won't run for re-election in May 2017 if his policies--job subsidies and tax breaks for employers--fail to bring down unemployment.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 26, 2015 12:14 ET (17:14 GMT)