France, Social Portrait 2021 edition
This work provides a perspective on more than a year of a health crisis with unprecedented economic and social impacts: How has the population's mortality and health changed throughout the waves of Covid-19? To what extent have the preventive measures been adopted? How has the healthcare system been affected? Which regions were most affected by the drop in births seen nine months after the first lockdown? What impact has the crisis had on household income and the job market? What effect did the crisis have on young people?
At lower risk of Covid-19, young adults weathered the economic and social effects of the pandemic
Opale Echegu (Drees), Héry Papagiorgiou (Sies), Laurie Pinel (Drees) avec la collaboration de Jean-Baptiste Hazo, Julien Ramillon et Jehanne Richet (Drees)
Young adults under the age of 30 are at lower risk of dying or serious illness from Covid-19 than their older counterparts. However, their mental health deteriorated significantly due to the health crisis and its social and economic impacts. In May 2020, symptoms of depression became much more prevalent in people aged 18 to 29 but remained stable for older adults. This growth was driven primarily by people aged 18 to 24, with prevalence of these symptoms more than doubling (from 10% in 2019 to 22% in May 2020). In autumn 2020, this indicator remained higher in this age group than in older age groups. At the end of 2020, the proportion of 18 to 29-year-olds who felt optimistic about their future fell 15 points compared to at the end of 2019, matching the rate for those aged 30 to 59 (which remained stable).
Over-represented among those entering the labour market and often holding temporary positions, young people also felt the economic effects of the crisis more strongly. In 2020, the employment rate fell by 1.7 points for people aged 18 to 24 and 1.3 points for those aged 25 to 29 compared to 2019 but remained stable for those aged 30 to 64 (+0.2 points). Young people employed at the start of 2020 were also more likely to suffer short-time working or temporary lay-offs: in May 2020, this was the case for 46% of those aged 18 to 24 compared to 35% for those aged 25 and above. In the second quarter of 2021, the employment landscape improved, with long-term employment for people aged under 26 increasing and even exceeding pre-crisis levels. However, the number of young people both out of work and not in school remained higher than before the crisis.
The Covid-19 pandemic also affected students in a way never seen before. Measures implemented to limit the spread of the virus impacted learning conditions and threatened the financial situation of the most precarious students. The use of specific one-off aid payments – for students in severe financial difficulty – rocketed during the lockdown periods and remained at unusually high levels during the first half of 2021.