14 November 2019

2019- n° 292

The unemployment rate increased by 0.1 points in Q3 2019 ILO Unemployment and Labour Market-related indicators (Labour Force Survey results) - third quarter 2019

The ILO unemployment rate slightly increased by 0.1 points on average in Q3 2019, after a 0.2 points fall in the second quarter. It stood at 8.6% of the labour force in France (excluding Mayotte), 0.5 points below its Q3 2018 level. In metropolitan France, it stood at 8.3 %.

In France excluding Mayotte, the number of unemployed increased by 10,000 over a quarter to 2.5 million people. The unemployment rate decreased among youths (-0.2 points), especially young men (–0.4 points). It was stable among persons aged 25 to 49 and virtually stable among those aged 50 and over (+0.1 points). It was virtually stable among women while it increased among men (+0.3 points) within this age group.

Over a year, the decline in the unemployment rate was pronounced among youths (–2.3 points), especially young men (–2.9 points).

Among the unemployed, 1,0 million 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 Q3 2019. Itwas stable over a quarter but 0.3 points below its Q3 2018 level .

Among inactive people as defined by the ILO, 1.6 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 27,000 over a quarter and returned to the level reached at the end of 2018.

The employment rate of the population aged 15-64 years fell by 0.3 points in Q3 2019, at 65.2%. Over the quarter, the employment rate among persons aged 15 to 24 was virtually stable (–0.1 points) while it decreased among those aged 50 to 64 (–0.3 points) and middle-aged people (–0.4 points).

Over a year, the employment rate for people aged 15 to 64 fell by 0,2 points. The decline was particularly significant for youths (–0.4 points) whereas the employment rate was stable for persons aged 25 to 49 and virtually stable for those aged 50 to 64 (–0.1 points). The unemployment rate markedly increased among people aged 55 to 64 (+0.4 points).

Permanent employment rate for people aged 15 to 64 stood at 49.0% in Q3 2019. It diminished by 0.2 points over a quarter and a year. Fixed-term and temporary employment rate was stable compared to Q2 2019 and decreased by 0.2 points over a year. It stood at 7.5%, 0.6 points below its highest level reached at the end of 2017.

Full-time employment rate stood at 53.8% in Q3 2019. It decreased by 0.4 points compared to the previous quarter. It almost returned to the level reached in Q3 2018 (+0.1 points). Part-time employment rate was stable over a quarter to 11.3 %, 0.4 points below its Q3 2018 level.

In Q3 2019, 5.4% of the employed persons were underemployed. It mainly concerns people having a part-time job and wishing to work more. This share was virtually stable (+0.1 points) over a quarter but was 0.3 points below its level a year earlier.

The activity rate of people aged 15-64 decreased by 0.3 points over a quarter and by 0.7 points over a year, to 71.3%. Quarter on quarter, it decreased among youths (−0.2 points) and middle-aged persons (−0.4 points), while being virtually stable among persons aged 50 to 64 (–0.1 points). The activity rate among those aged 55 to 64 was stable over a quarter but advanced over a year (+0.5 points).

Compared to the provisional estimate published on 14 August 2019, ILO unemployment rate in Q2 2019 has been unchanged, at 8.5 %. The new calculation method based on the direct use of overseas departments data (see documentation) leads to one-time revisions of the unemployment rate limited to +/– 0.1 pointsfor the historical series.