The unemployment rate in France stood at 7.5% in the fourth quarter of 2023, new data from Insee has found, which was ‘stable’ compared to the previous quarter.
Compared to the final quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate was 0.4 percentage points higher, however it should be noted that the rate recorded at the end of 2022 was the lowest seen since 1982.
Unemployment is tracking well below (3.0 percentage points) the peak rate, which was recorded in the second quarter of 2015.
Unemployment by age range
During the quarter, the unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 to 24 dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 17.5%, remaining 0.6 points higher than a year ago, Insee’s data showed. For those aged 25 to 49, it rose by 0.2 points to 7.0%, standing 0.5 points above the previous year’s level.
Among those aged 50 or older, the unemployment rate remained nearly unchanged, decreasing by 0.1 points to 5.0%, matching last year’s figure, Insee said.
The total number of unemployed in France (excluding Mayotte) stood at 2.3 million in the quarter, an increase of 29,000.
Approximately 571,000 people were classified as long-term unemployed, indicating they had been actively seeking a job for at least one year. This figure rose by 33,000 over the quarter. Consequently, the long-term unemployment rate saw a minimal increase of 0.1 points, reaching 1.9% of the labour force.
Full-time employment rate
In the fourth quarter of 2023, the full-time employment rate remained largely unchanged over the quarter, standing at 57.0%, a slight increase of 0.1 percentage points, but still 0.2 points lower than the previous year.
Concurrently, the part-time employment rate remained steady at 11.4%, marking a 0.2-percentage point increase compared to Q4 2022.
The average number of hours worked per job experienced a slight decrease over the quarter, declining by 0.6% after a previous increase of 1.3%, settling at 31.2 hours per week (adjusted for seasonal variations and calendar effects). This figure nearly reached its pre-crisis level of 31.3 hours per week recorded in Q4 2019.
