Paris: Unemployment has continued to rise in France since 2025, with the number of job seekers reporting no employment increasing by 3.1% over the past year, official figures showed Tuesday.

According to Anadolu Agency, the number of people registered with France Travail in category A, which covers those without any work, reached 3.323 million in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Labour Ministry and France Travail.

The figure rose by 0.8% from the previous quarter, reversing a 1.2% decline recorded during the first three months of the year. The increase was sharper among young people. The number of young job seekers without any employment climbed by 5.9% compared with the same period in 2025.

Including categories B and C, which cover people working reduced hours but seeking additional employment, the total number of job seekers reached 5.801 million, up 1.3% from the previous quarter and 3.2% year-on-year. Among young people, the combined number across categories A, B, and C increased by 6.3% over the past year.

The figures have also been affected by changes to France's unemployment registration system introduced in 2025, including the automatic registration of recipients of the RSA minimum-income benefit and revised rules that prevent some sanctioned applicants from being removed from the rolls. After adjusting for these changes, the number of category A job seekers fell by 0.2% in the second quarter. The combined total for categories A, B, and C, however, still increased by 0.4% on an adjusted basis.