This is the other great reform of the current government, but it is somewhat eclipsed by that of pensions.
However, a small revolution in unemployment insurance is taking place on February 1st. The duration of the compensation, that is, the period during which you will be entitled to the benefit of assistance for reincorporation to work (ARE), will be adjusted from now on depending on the economic situation. It will refer to all the newly unemployed.
Therefore, now there will be the so-called “green” periods (unemployment below 9% or an increase of less than 0.8 points in the quarter). The length of compensation will be cut by a quarter compared to previous entitlements to encourage people to return to work.
But there will be periods of crisis called “red” (unemployment higher than 9% or increase of more than 0.8 points). There will be a return to the previous compensation period, the one that prevailed before February 1, 2023 to protect more.
Currently, France is in a “green” period with an unemployment rate of 7.3% of the active population according to INSEE.
18 months of maximum compensation
Specifically, this means that the maximum period during which a newly unemployed person can receive their benefit goes from 24 to 18 months.
For the unemployed over 55 years of age, this maximum duration will be reduced from 36 to 27 months.
Please note that these new provisions only concern assets in mainland France, overseas territories are not affected.
Two other provisions come to tighten this February 1 the rules of unemployment insurance. As of February 1, the abandonment of work without legitimate reason as well as the refusal of two consecutive CDIs by a person with a short contract (CDD or interim) will not give rise to the ARE.
For the government, this reform is an important piece in its goal of achieving full employment. According to the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt, these new rules could make it possible to generate between 100,000 and 150,000 additional returns to employment in a year.
geographic inequalities
Many economists believe that this reform can have positive effects, studies showing that job search intensifies as the end of the compensation period approaches.
On the other hand, others point out that this too comprehensive reform could generate inequalities. Firstly, taking the national unemployment rate as a reference, while in some departments this rate is still above 10%, such as in the Aisne, Pyrénées-Orientales and Hérault. Les chômeurs de ces départements verront ainsi leur durée réduite alors meme que leurs opportunités d’emplois sont moins importantes que sur d’autres territoires qui sont déjà quasiment au plein-emploi (Lozère, Savoie ou Mayenne ont des taux de chômage de 5% ou less).
So it does not take into account the different profiles and formations. However, in certain sectors of activity, significant hiring may not take place despite a low overall unemployment rate and numerous job openings. This is called coincidental unemployment, and it can only be resolved by training the unemployed for new jobs.
On the other hand, there is a consensus that this reform will be good for the Unedic account, which could achieve 4,000 million euros of annual savings.
In deficit between 2009 and 2019, the unemployment insurance system is again in surplus since the fall in unemployment in France. By 2022, its balance sheet should reach a surplus of 4.4 billion euros.
Source: BFM TV
