The unemployment rate in France was largely stable in the third quarter of 2024, at 7.4%, compared to 7.3% in Q2 2024, new data from Insee, the French statistics office, has found.
According to the data, the number of unemployed people in France (excluding Mayotte) rose by 35,000 in the quarter, to 2.3 million people.
Unemployment by age cohort
Among people aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate rose by 1.8 percentage points, to 19.7%, which is the highest rate since the first quarter of 2021.
Among those aged 25 to 49, the rate was virtually stable on a quarter-on-quarter basis (-0.1 percentage points), at 6.6%, while among the over 50s, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 points on a quarter-on-quarter basis, and by 0.5 points on a year-on-year basis, to 4.7%, the lowest level since the end of 2008.
Female unemployment decreased marginally in the quarter (-0.2 percentage points) to 7.2%, while male unemployment rose by 0.3 points, to 7.6%.
The long-term unemployment rate – in other words, individuals unemployed or without a job for over a year – was stable at 1.7%.
Employment rate increase
In terms of employment rate increases, the 50-64 age group saw significant gains, reaching a record 68.8%, while the overall employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 inched up to 69.1%, the highest rate since 1975.
Permanent employment rates rose to 51.1%, which is the highest rate since INSEE began quarterly measurements in 2003, while part-time employment and underemployment remained stable, with underemployment holding at its lowest level since 1992.
Lastly, the average number of hours worked per week rose slightly to 31.2 hours, aligning with pre-pandemic levels, while the share of labour force participants facing employment constraints—those unemployed, in the halo, or underemployed—decreased over the year, marking a 2.6-point reduction from the end of 2019.
‘In Q3 2024, the number of unemployed people in France (excluding Mayotte) as defined by the International Labor Office (ILO) increased by 35,000 over the quarter and reached 2.3 million people,’ Insee said in its statement. ‘The ILO unemployment rate thus increased by 0.1 points over the quarter, to 7.4% of the labor force, back to its level from a year ago. It remained slightly above its lowest level since 1982 (7.1% in Q4 2022 and in Q1 2023) and clearly below its peak level reached in Q2 2015 (-3.1 points).’ Read more here.
