At the end of 2022, 30.3 million people were in work in France, including 26.9 million employees. In two years, 1.2 million salaried jobs have been created, a third of them on apprenticeship contract.

As a result, unemployment has fallen again, and the unemployment rate as defined by the International Labour Office has reached an annual average of 7.3%, its lowest level since 1982. The halo around unemployment has also continued to fall: in total, 9.8% of 15-64 year-olds did not have a job and wished to work in 2022, the lowest level since 2009.

With the rise in the employment rate, the activity rate for 15-64 year-olds also rose sharply. In 2022, it reached 73.6%, its highest level since INSEE began measuring it according to the International Labour Office (1975). The increase was particularly marked for the youngest age groups, thanks in particular to the boom in apprenticeship.

In 2022, against a backdrop of high inflation, the average wage per head accelerated in both the private and public sectors, but its purchasing power fell sharply. Hourly labour costs accelerated in 2022.