Insee Première · April 2021 · n° 1850

Regional variations in the extent of the financial consequences of the first lockdown

A quarter of people aged 15 or over regard their household’s financial situation as having worsened in the spring 2020 lockdown. The départements of France most affected are those with the most workers. There is a higher incidence of people saying their financial situation deteriorated amongst those living in the Île-de-France area, Mediterranean region, Alps, Guadeloupe and Aisne. Firstly, people on the lowest income were the group most affected by the crisis and they account for a higher proportion of the population in those départements and secondly, the local economic fabric is focused more on business activities that were shut down during the lockdown, including tourism in particular.

People in départements that suffered from the abrupt shutdown of tourism more often say they were put on short-time working or were temporarily laid off between the start of the lockdown and the month of May, whereas in Île-de-France and the major cities, working from home (remote working) is more common.

Conversely, there is a lower incidence of residents of départements in central and western France feeling a deterioration in their financial situation, due to the significant proportion of pensioners who are relatively unaffected by the lockdown’s economic repercussions.