The government feared it but this time it is coming true. Unemployment has started to rise again in France. In mainland France, the number of category A job seekers increased by 0.7% (+19,300) in the third quarter of 2023, according to Dares, although it is still down 3.8% over a year.
The number of people in short-term reduced activity (category B) increased by 3.1% compared to the previous quarter and in the same period the number of people in long-term reduced activity (category C) decreased by 2.3%. In total, the number of job seekers in categories A, B and C increased by 0.2% during this quarter (+8,900) and fell by 1.3% in one year.
On average, in the third quarter of 2023, in mainland France, the number of people registered with Pôle emploi and obliged to look for work (categories A, B, C) is 5,076 million. Among them, 2.82 million people are unemployed (category A) and 2.26 million have reduced activity (categories B, C).
8% in 2024?
In the third quarter, nearly 730,000 people registered in Pôle emploi are not obliged to look for work, Dares points out. Either they are not immediately available and are unemployed (category D, for example: training, professional security contract, illness), or they are employed (category E, for example: business creation, subsidized contract). During this quarter, the number of those registered in category D increased by 1.8% and the same number of those registered in category E increased by 1.8%.
After a continuous fall in unemployment since 2015, which caused the rate to fall from 10.5 to 7.2% of the active population according to INSEE, forecasts indicate, in this inflationary context of rising rates, an increase in the next months. The OFCE even estimates that the country could approach 8% in 2024. Forecasts that the Government, which still aims for full employment by 2027, considers pessimistic.
Source: BFM TV
