14 February 2019

2019- n° 36

The unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 in Q4 2018 ILO Unemployment and Labour Market-related indicators (Labour Force Survey results) - fourth quarter 2018

On average in Q4 2018, the average ILO unemployment rate in metropolitan France and the overseas departments (excluding Mayotte) stood at 8.8% of the labour force, its lowest level since early 2009. It decreased by 0.3 percentage points quarter on quarter, after being stable in Q3 2018.

In metropolitan France, the number of unemployed decreased by 90,000 in Q4 2018 to 2.5 million people; the unemployment rate stood at 8.5 % of the labour force. The unemployment rate strongly decreased among youths (-1.7 points). It also decreased for persons aged 25 to 49 (-0.2 points) and was stable for those aged 50 and over.

Over a year, the unemployment rate in metropolitan France decreased by 0.1 points, but fell markedly among youth (-1.8 points), in particular among young men (-2.8 points).

Among the unemployed, 990 thousands declared that they had been seeking a job for at least one year. The long-term unemployment rate stood at 3.4% of the labour force in Q4 2018, as in the previous quarter. This rate decreased by 0.3 points over a year.

In metropolitan France, among inactive people as defined by the ILO, 1.5 million persons wished to work without being considered as unemployed according to the ILO definition: they made up the halo of unemployment. Their number increased by 32,000 over a quarter and by 5,000 over a year. It nearly reached the level of the end of 2017 (+ 5,000 over a year).

The employment rate of the population aged 15-64 years rose again (+0.2 points) in Q4 2018. It stood at 66.1%, its highest level since the early 1980s. It increased by 0.4 percentage points year on year. Over the quarter, it went up among every age groups. The highest rise was among men aged 15 to 24 (+0.9 points over a quarter and +1.8 points over a year). Their employment rate reached a peak at 33.8 %, its highest level since the the end of 2010.

Full-time employment rate stood at 54.4% in Q4 2018. It increased by 0.3 points over a quarter and 0.5 points over a year, reaching its highest level since 2003 (beginning of the quarterly series). Part-time employment rate was stable at 11.7%. It fell by 0.1 percentage points compared to Q4 2017.

In Q4 2018, 5.8% of the employed persons were underemployed. It mainly concerns people having a part-time job and wishing to work more. This share decreased by 0.2 points compared to Q3 2018, after a similar rise in the previous quarter.

The activity rate of people aged 15-64 was stable at 72.3% in Q4 2018. It increased by 0.3 percentage points compared to Q4 2017. Quarter-on-quarter, it was virtually stable among youths and persons aged 25 to 49, but increased sharply among persons aged 55 to 64 (+0.5 points over a quarter and +0.9 points over a year), particularly among women.

Compared to the provisional estimate published on 20November 2018, ILO unemployment rate in Q3 2018 stays unchanged. For Q2 2018, it has been downgraded by 0.1 percentage points in metropolitan France (from 8.8% to 8.7%), due to seasonal adjustment coefficients recalculation.