France helps less unemployed than other developed countries, but more modest employees

France offers “a substantial gain in the activity” of modest employees, while it is less generous with unemployed people, according to an international comparison published, on Thursday, April 24, by the Directorate of Studies of Social Ministries (DREES).

The differences between countries are due to the way of redistributing the income of work and heritage among citizens, through different types of support, such as housing assistance, social minimums or tax credits.

A study conducted in 12 countries

The research of the Drees is related to twelve countries: eight European countries (Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom, Sweden), to which South Korea, Japan, the United States and Canada are added.

She compares the available income of people of working age (single or as a couple without children) who do not work and have no resources, and that of modest employees who receive half of the national average salary.

To make the comparison, the “stallion” chosen is “in each country, the available income of a single person, an tenant who would obtain the average salary (RDSM),” details the drees.

France helps less people without resources

After the studies, three large groups appear: a first “small protector” composed of Poland, Canada and the United States that support “very little work and without resources, as well as modest assets.”

The second group (France, Spain, United Kingdom and Japan) supports “people without resources, but also active who have a remuneration of order” of a full minimum wage. These countries offer “a supreme gain in the activity”, thanks to a panoply of social and fiscal assistants that are their own.

The third group (Germany, Austria, Italy, South Korea and Sweden) “helps people without resources in a proportion comparable to the second group, but support the income of modest assets.” “The profit at work for a modest salary, therefore, is less than in the other two groups of countries,” the researchers point out.

It seems that in his group, “France helps people without resources” than others, but “a little more modest workers thanks to the activity bonus.” Therefore, it guarantees “the highest income available for a modest employee.”