In the fourth quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate remained rather stable, at 7.2% of the active population in France (excluding Mayotte) against 7.3% in the third, according to figures published by INSEE on Tuesday. The number of unemployed, according to the definition of the International Labor Office (ILO) reached 2.2 million people, or 45,000 less compared to the previous quarter, adds INSEE in its press release.
The unemployment rate for the 4th quarter is thus 0.3 points lower than its level a year earlier, and 1 point lower than its level before the health crisis (end of 2019), specifies the institute. “This is its lowest level since the first quarter of 2008, if we exclude the one-off ‘trompe-l’oeil’ drop in the second quarter of 2020, during the first confinement”, notes INSEE.
Youth unemployment rate stands at 16.9%
In a note on the situation in December, the institute had predicted that “the unemployment rate would remain around 7.3% of the active population until mid-2023”. Over the quarter, the youth unemployment rate (15-24 years) fell by one point, to 16.9%. It is 0.4 points above its level at the end of 2021 but 4.9 points below its pre-crisis level.
The unemployment rate for people aged 25-49 was stable at 6.5%, 0.3 points below its level at the end of 2021. Finally, the unemployment rate for people aged 50 or over barely decreased over the quarter ( -0.1 point) to 5%, 0.7 point lower than its level a year earlier.
The long-term unemployment rate (at least one year) is stable at 1.9% of the active population. The “halo around unemployment”, i.e. people wishing to return to the job market but who are not considered unemployed by the ILO (actually looking for a job and being available to take one), “is barely increasing” over the quarter (+0.1 point), notes INSEE. In total, 1.9 million people are affected. As for the employment rate of 15-64 year olds, it is stable at 68.3%, remaining at its highest level since INSEE measured it (1975).