PARIS (Reuters) France’s youth unemployment rate rose to a record 25 percent in the third quarter, well above the European average, and the overall jobless rate remained stuck at 9.7 percent in the latest gloomy news for euro zone growth.

The jobless rate among people aged 15-24 years rose from 24.2 percent in the preceding April-June quarter, the highest level on records going back to 1975, data showed on Thursday.

The rise in youth unemployment a key concern among voters erased a brief dip early in the year and left it well above the 18.5 percent it stood at in early 2008 before the global economic crisis hit in earnest.

While France’s overall jobless rate is lower than the euro zone average, last reported at 10.1 percent as of October, the rate among under-25s is well above the euro zone average of 20.1 percent, EU statistics show. The overall jobless rate of 9.7 percent was unchanged from the previous quarter and compares to a peak of 10 percent in late 2009 during the latest economic crisis.