Insee Focus · October 2022 · n° 277

In the Priority Neighbourhoods, the social impact of the health crisis faded more quickly than in other areas

Prior to the health crisis, one in five inhabitants of Priority Neighbourhoods received the active solidarity income (RSA) and one in four received the in-work benefit. The restrictions on activity in 2020 led to a sharp increase in the number of end-of-month job seekers registered with the French public employment service (Pôle emploi) in category A and a decrease in the number of recipients of the in-work benefit, in these neighbourhoods as elsewhere. The increase in the number of RSA beneficiaries was also significant, but fell more rapidly in the Priority Neighbourhoods than in other areas during 2020. In 2021, the number of RSA recipients in Priority Neighbourhoods returned to its pre-crisis level earlier than in other areas, regardless of the family situation or age of recipients.