As of 2017, just under three quarters of people aged 15 to 64 in the European Union (EU) were active (employed or unemployed). More than half of them are aged between 30 and 54. Of the latter, one in five people have completed lower secondary level education or below, less than half have an intermediate level qualification and around one in three have completed higher education. Among those active who have completed upper secondary or higher education, the relative proportion of women is higher than that of men.

The number of persons active within the economy is determined by combining the demographic phenomena affecting the size and structure of the population with patterns of activity. The latter are made up of labour supply on the one hand and macroeconomic developments on the other hand. Activity rates increase in particular in line with the level of education, peaking around the median ages. The structural effects can therefore go part way to explaining the differences in activity rates within the European countries. Between 2007 and 2017, activity rates within the EU increased by almost 3 points, which was largely down to an increase in education levels as well as, to a lesser degree, an increase in activity rates within the various categories taken into account. For men, a convergence was seen between the European countries. By contrast, no convergence was seen for women, for whom the increase in activity, at different speeds within each country, once again contributed to an increase in labour supply in 2017. As it has a young population, France finds itself in a relatively favourable position in terms of the future size of its active population when compared with major European economies such as Germany or Italy.