The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) estimated, in a report published Tuesday February 13, 2023, the unemployment rate in France at 7.5% in the fourth quarter of 2023 according to the definition of the International Labor Office ( BIT).
According to the institute, which calculates this figure based on a questionnaire sent to nearly 90,000 people each quarter, 2.3 million people in France meet three criteria: being unemployed during a given week; be available to take a job within two weeks; have actively looked for a job in the last four weeks or have found one that starts in less than three months.
The unemployment rate is 0.4 points higher than its level at the end of 2022, which was the lowest since 1982, underlines INSEE. It remains significantly below its mid-2015 peak (10.5%). In detail, in the fourth quarter, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 points for 15-24 year olds, to 17.5%, a level higher than that of a year earlier (0.6 points). For those aged 25-49, it increased again by 0.2 points over the quarter, to 7%, and is 0.5 points above its level a year earlier.
Finally, for those aged 50 or over, the unemployment rate was almost stable over the quarter (− 0.1 point), at 5%, the same level as a year earlier. The long-term unemployment rate (at least one year) increases “very slightly” to 1.8%. The “halo around unemployment”, i.e. people wishing to return to the job market but who are not considered unemployed in the ILO sense (actually looking for a job and being available to take one) decreases slightly: 1, 9 million people are affected (−88,000 compared to the previous quarter and −17,000 over one year).