Could the increase in cancellations from Pôle emploi explain the sharp drop in the number of job seekers recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022? According to figures published on Wednesday 25 January by the public operator and the Ministry of Labor, the number of job seekers without any activity (category A) fell by 3.6% throughout the territory (outside sea included, except Mayotte), i.e. 114,400 fewer people compared to the previous quarter.
The explanation for part of this drop lies in the exceptionally high number of administrative cancellations recorded by Pôle emploi. In the last quarter of 2022, they represent 9.7% of exits. Above all, they are up 10.4% compared to the third quarter and the month of November alone saw a new record set, with 58,100 people struck off, a first since the start of these statistics in 1996.
An administrative cancellation is a temporary suspension of registration, and therefore of compensation, to which Pôle emploi proceeds when a registered person does not respond to a summons, does not actively seek employment, refuses twice a job offer or quitting training for no reason.
A warning before any radiation
The public operator nevertheless wishes to point out that the decision to strike off is never automatic. It is always preceded by a warning which leaves the job seeker more than ten days to react and justify themselves. “These justifications result in a large majority of cases in not pronouncing a sanction, therefore no radiation”indicates the direction of Pôle emploi, which specifies to take into account the situation of the registered and never to cancel “blindly and automatically”.
“The evolution of the number of radiation does not explain” the decline in the number of job seekers observed in recent quarters, defends the management of Pôle emploi. “More than 80% of cancellations are pronounced for a period of one month, at the end of which the job seeker can re-register”assures the operator.
Reinforced controls
However, the increase in radiation does not come from nowhere. While the operator set up, in September 2022, pools of unemployed people likely to fill labor shortages in shortage occupations, inspections were also intensified during the year at the request of Emmanuel Macron. Pôle emploi was to carry out 500,000 checks in 2022, compared to 420,000 in 2019.
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