By Inti Landauro

PARIS--The number of French job seekers inched up in January from December, showing the fragility of the recent decline in unemployment.

The country counted 800 more Category A job seekers, people registered as fully unemployed, in January than in December at 3,467,900, the Labor Ministry said. The number of unemployed was 2.5% lower than in January 2015, though the decline doesn't offset prior years of rising unemployment.

The month-on-month rise in January underscores a mixed year in France's job market, which sunk President Francois Hollande's hopes of re-election in May. The Socialist leader, who pinned his political future on a turnaround in the job market, announced in December that he wouldn't run.

Even as Mr. Hollande stands aside, his Socialist Party remains deeply unpopular and divided over the president's attempts to tackle unemployment. Benoit Hamon, who had left the government in 2014 on disagreements over economic policy, last month defeated former Prime Minister Manuel Valls in a primary election. During the campaign for the primary, Mr. Hamon criticized the current administration's labor policies.

Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri has repeatedly said the monthly unemployed numbers are subject to monthly swings that shouldn't be overanalyzed.

"Over the past three months, the trend is favorable," she said.

-Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 24, 2017 13:04 ET (18:04 GMT)

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