Informations Rapides · 8 June 2023 · n° 146

In Q1 2023, payroll employment increased by 0.3% Payroll employment - first quarter 2023

In Q1 2023, payroll employment increased again: +0.3% (that is +92,400 jobs) after +0.2% (+55,400 jobs) in the previous quarter. It has grown for the ninth consecutive month. It was sharply above its Q1 2022 level (+1.3% that is +350,300 jobs) and exceeded it pre-sanitary level by 4.9%, at the end of 2019, that is nearly 1.3 million of additional jobs, which one out of three is an apprenticeship contract.

The increase in Q1 2023 was mainly due to a rise in private payroll employment, which grew by 0.4% (+86,800 jobs) after +0.2% in Q4 2022 (+51,500 jobs). Private payroll employment was above its Q4 2019 level by 6.1% (that is +1.2 million jobs). Public payroll employment was again virtually stable over a quarter (+0.1%) as over a year (+0.1%). It topped his Q4 2019 level by 1.1% (that is +62,700 jobs).

In Q1 2023, temporary employment sharply fell back: -2.2% (-18,100 jobs). This retreat compensated more than the last two quarters of growth: +0.2% in Q4 2022 (that is +1,500 jobs) after +1.0% in Q3 2022 (that is +7,700 jobs). Temporary employment exceeded by 2.3% its end 2019 level but was 2.2% below its Q1 2022 level (that is -17,900 jobs).

As a reminder, in this publication temporary workers are accounted for in the temporary employment sector which pays them (within market services), whichever sector they carry out their assignment (agriculture, industry, construction, market or non market services).

Industrial payroll employment (excluding temporary work) rose again by 0.3% in Q1 2023 (+8,200 after +8,900 jobs in Q4 2022). It exceeded by 1.2% its Q1 2022 level and by 1.8% its pre-sanitary crisis level.

In the construction sector, payroll employment was nearly stable in Q1 2023 (-0,1%, that is -1,500 jobs) after three consecutive quarters of moderate growth (+0.2%). It topped its Q1 2022 level by 0.4% and its pre-sanitary crisis level by 7.8%.

Excluding temporary work, private payroll ramped up significantly in market services in Q1 2023: +0.7% (+88,300 jobs), after +0.2% in Q4 2022 (+22,700 jobs). It topped its Q1 2022 level by 2.3% (that is +290,500 jobs) and its pre-sanitary level by 7.5% (that is +886,400 jobs). In market services, excluding temporary work, payroll employment increased moderately in wholesale and retail trade (+0.2%) but was more vigorous in the other sub-sectors such as “other service activities” (+1.1%) –particularly in creative, arts and entertainment activities (+1.7%)–, legal and accounting activities (+0.9%), information and communication (+0.7%), transportation and storage (+0.6%) and accommodation and food service activities (+0.6%).

Payroll employment in non-market services increased by 0.2% (+15,200 jobs) in Q1 2023 after +0.1% in the previous quarter. It exceeded its Q1 2022 level by +0.4%.

Finally, payroll employment in agriculture was virtually stable in Q1 2023 (+0.1% or +300 jobs) as over a year (+0.1%).

Compared to the employment detailed estimate published on 9 March 2023, the increase in payroll employment (private and public) in the fourth quarter of 2022 has been increased by 11,400 jobs and its relative evolution remains unchanged. The revisions comes mainly from non market services excluding temporary work (+6,500 jobs) and are due to the updating of the coefficients of seasonal variations. The revision on previous data are a bit stronger than in the previous publication but usual at this time of the year, because of the actualisation of the models of seasonal correction.

Compared to the flash estimate published on 5 May 2023, the increase in payroll employment in the private sector alone in the first quarter of 2023 has been increased by 44,800 jobs, resulting in a revision of +0.2 points in the evolution (+0.4% instead of +0.2%). This revision comes mainly from the market service sector excluding temporary work (+28,400 jobs) and industry (+7,500 jobs).