A new album. In the first quarter, the employment rate and the activity rate reached historical heights, with 69.5% of 15 to 64 years of employment, an increase of 0.4 points during the quarter and 0.6% for a year.
The activity rate, which includes the unemployed (relationship between the number of assets and the total population), is now 75.1%, an increase of 0.5 points during the quarter. In the Franceinfo set on Friday morning, the Minister of Labor, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, welcomed the increase in the employment rate among children from 55 to 64 years, which reached 61.5% (to +0.5 points in the quarter) even if this age group hides the disparities, the situation is much more critical during the 60-64 years than the 55-59 years.
According to the minister, the age delays that will benefit from the preferential rules for unemployment insurance since 55 years and 53 years is “a way of acting improving the employment rate for more than 55”. The Minister of Labor and Employment, however, emphasized the persistent gap with Germany. According to Insee, the employment rate reached 77.2% in 2022 in 20-64 years and 73.6% in the 55-64 years in the RIN.
An effect of the latest pension reforms
To bring France to the European average, the minister wishes “to continue with a resolution supporting employment applicants for employment.” “That is all we have done, everything we are doing now with the beneficiaries of the RSA.” Insee has examined on the other hand the effects of the Automatic Registry of RSA beneficiaries for France’s work since January 1 and has calculated that until now it has been “insignificant in the evolution of the three indicators of the entire population (unemployment, employment and activity rate).”
On the other hand, the head of the Passeon Employment Department of Vladimir Vladimir believes that the “quite high rhythm of increase in the employment rate is closely linked to the various reforms on pensions, and in particular the last one of 2023”.
“We have progressed a lot about the employment rate of 55-59 years since the 2010 pension reform and 2023,” said Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet after the Council of Ministers last week.
An “inequality”
In its second report requested by the Government to consult about pensions and presented last month, the Court of Auditors states, however, that the increase in the employment rate observed in recent years, thanks in particular to pension reforms, has been accompanied by “inequality.”
The wise men of the Rue Cambon also point out that the long professional system has effects “concentrated on people who touch an average pension” (from fifth to the eighth decision of pensions), the most modest retirees of the first four deciles that represent only 13% of the beneficiaries of the device.
“Disturbing” signals among young people
On Friday morning at the Franceinfo microphone, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet indicated that “people over 55 are twice as unemployed as people who are between 20 and 49 years old.” But young people also represent one of the black points of the French employment rate. During his speech on April 15 after a “budget alert committee”, François Bayrou said a much lower French employment rate than with our European neighbors. “
In the fourth quarter of 2024, this rate was 33.7% for 15-25 year old, according to Insee. By way of comparison, according to Eurostat data, it was 51% in Germany in 2024. France has many young people “or in employment, or in study, or training” (Neet): 12.8% at the end of 2024, in the high range of European countries. In a recent note, the Economic Analysis Council (CAE) said that “French young people take much longer to return to the labor market after their studies than their German and British counterparts,” and added that the main youth employment problem is “a good integration into the labor market.”
And the perspectives are less optimistic than for the elderly whose employment rate could continue to increase thanks to devices such as early access to progressive retirement or the famous senior permanent contract.
With the current reversal of the labor market, young people, more frequently in short contracts (CDD, temporary work), are the first affected. The Data Director and Studies of APEC Hélène Garner indicates the “disturbing” signals for this population whose employment rate fell in 2024 (-0.6 points according to INSEE).
Source: BFM TV
