Informations Rapides · 15 November 2022 · n° 295

In Q3 2022, the unemployment rate was virtually stable at 7.3% ILO Unemployment and Labour Market-related indicators (Labour Force Survey results) - third quarter 2022

In Q3 2022, the number of unemployed people as defined by the ILO decreased by 17,000 over the quarter, and reached 2.3 million people. The ILO unemployment rate in France (excluding Mayotte) was thus virtually stable (-0,1 points) at 7.3% of the labour force. It has been broadly stable between 7.3% and 7.4% since Q4 2021. Over the year, it decreased by 0.7 points and stood 0.9 points below its pre-crisis level (at the end of 2019).

Over the quarter, the unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 24 rose by 0.3 points, at 18.3%, but remained 0.9 points below its Q3 2021 level and 3.3 points below its pre-crisis level (at the end of 2019). However, the unemployment rate was virtually stable (-0.1 points) over a quarter for people aged 25 to 49, at 6.5%, and for those aged 50 or more, at 5.1%, levels below those of the third quarter of 2021.

Over the quarter, the women’s unemployment rate slightly decreased to 7.1% (-0.2 points) while the men’s unemployment rate was stable at 7.6%. Over the year, unemployment rate for women dropped more than for men (-1.0 point compared to -0.3 points).

Among the inactive people as defined by the ILO, 1.8 million wanted a job without being considered unemployed, because they either do not seek a job or are not immediately available: they made up the halo around unemployment. This number decreased slightly over the quarter (-34,000), thus the share of halo in the population of people aged 15 to 64 was virtually stable quarter-to-quarter (-0.1 points to 4.4%), remaining at the same level as in Q3 2021. Over the quarter, the share of halo in the 15-24 years old population dropped by 0.3 points at 6.2 %, after a 0.4 point increase in the previous quarter, while it was virtually stable at 4.5% (-0.1 points) for those aged 25 to 49 to and stable at 3.0% for those aged 50 to 64.

Among the unemployed, 600,000 people in Q3 2022 declared being jobless and having been job seeking for at least one year. The long-term unemployment rate stood at 2.0% of the labour force. It decreased very slightly over the quarter (-0.1 points). It is the lowest level since Q2 2009, 0.4 points below its level in Q3 2021.

On average, in Q3 2022, the employment rate of people aged 15 to 64 rose by 0.3 points to 68.3%. It stood 0.8 point above its level one year ago and at its highest since INSEE started measuring it (1975).

For people aged 15-24, the employment rate was virtually stable over the quarter at 34.9% (+0.1 points), its highest level since 1990. It grew by 1.7 points over the year, mainly due to work-study contracts. For those aged 25-49, the employment rate rose by 0.3 points to 82.6%, after a 0.2 point decrease in the previous quarter. It increased by 0.5 points over the year and stood at its highest level since 2009. Finally, for those aged 50-64, the employment rate stood at 66.3%. It rose by 0.3 points over the quarter and by 0.9 points over the year, reaching a new all-time high (since 1975).

In Q3 2022, 4.5% of employed people were underemployed. This share went down by 0.1 points over the quarter. It stood 0.9 points below its pre-crisis level, at its lowest since 1992.

Overall, in Q3 2022, 16.5% of participants in the labour market (active people or in the halo around unemployment) were constrained in their labour supply, either by the absence of a job (unemployed or halo around unemployment), or in a situation of underemployment. This share decreased by 0.3 points over the quarter, and stood at its lowest since INSEE started measuring it (1990).

In Q3 2022, the average number of hours worked per week and per job was 31.0 hours, down by 1.6% compared to the third quarter of 2019. This decline may be explained by the low number of workings days in July 2022 and by the high number of non-worked days due to sick leave because of the health crisis.

The full-time employment rate stood at 57.0% in Q3 2022. It grew by 0.3 points over the quarter and by 1.1 points over the year. On the other hand, the part-time employment rate decrased by 0.1 points over the quarter and by 0.4 points over the year. As a result, the share of part-time employment in total employment was virtually stable over the quarter (-0.1 points) at 17.2%, 0.6 points below its level one year ago. In Q3 2022, it was at its lowest level since 2002.

The permanent employment rate for people aged 15 to 64 increased by 0.4 points over the quarter to 50.1%, slightly higher than its pre-crisis level (at the end of 2019). The employment rate on fixed-term contract or temporary work decreased by 0.2 points over the quarter, to 7.0%. The self-employed employment rate (-0.1 points, to 8.4%) and the work-study employment rate (+0.1 points, to 2.4%) were virtually stable over the quarter but stood above their pre-crisis level (respectively by 0.4 points and 0.8 points).

The activity rate of people aged 15 to 64 slightly rose over the quarter (+0.2 points), to 73.7%. It grew by 0.3 points over a year and by 0.9 points compared to its end of 2019 level. Thus, it exceeded its highest-ever level since INSEE started measuring it (1975).

Over the quarter, the activity rate rose by 0.2 points for people aged 15 to 24 (to 42.7%), and for people aged 25 to 49 (to 88.3%). It rose by 0.3 points for those aged 50-64 (to 69.9%). Over the year, the increase was stronger among young people: +1.6 points for those aged 15-24, compared to +0.4 points for those aged 50-64 and -0.1 points for those aged 25-49.

In Q3 2022, the share of young people aged 15 to 29 neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET) decreased by 0.4  points to 11.6%. This share dropped by 0.4 points over the year and stood 0.7 points below its pre-crisis level.

Compared to the first estimate published on 12 August 2022, the ILO unemployment rate in Q2 2022 remained unchanged at 7.4%.

The employment rate and the activity rate also remained unchanged.

The next publication, relative to Q4 2022, is scheduled for 14 February 2023 at 7:30 am.