We knew that the Breton economy had suffered less from the health crisis and that the recovery had started there faster than elsewhere. This is confirmed with the figures transmitted this Thursday by Pôle Emploi. At the end of 2021, the number of job seekers in category A thus amounted to 125,240 in the region, down 13.6% over one year. All categories combined, there were 248,400 job seekers, a decrease of 4.6%. The decline in unemployment has therefore continued in recent months in Brittany where the rate is now 6.5%, against 7.9% nationally. “It is still the lowest unemployment rate in France”, welcomes Frédéric Sévignon, regional director of Pôle Emploi Bretagne. You have to go back to 2008 to find an even lower unemployment rate in the region. At the time, it was then 6.2%.
These good figures, however, hide disparities in the region. Unsurprisingly, Ille-et-Vilaine is in the lead with living areas much less affected by unemployment such as Vitré, which has the lowest rate in France (4.1%), Fougères (5%) or Rennes (5.9%). The situation is a little more complicated, however, in cities like Guingamp (7.9%), Auray (7.8%) or Carhaix (7.7%). “But this has nothing to compare with the rates that we see in other regions”, underlines Frédéric Sévignon.
We lack manpower in agriculture and agri-food
With its dynamic job market and its living environment, Brittany therefore attracts workers. But it still lacks arms in certain sectors which are pillars of its economy such as agri-food or agriculture. Ditto in construction, catering, transport, logistics or the personal services sector. “These tensions already existed before the crisis and this has increased in certain sectors”, specifies Frédéric Sévignon, referring to the number of 60,000 job offers currently to be filled on the site of Pôle Emploi in Brittany.
To attract candidates in these trades, which often suffer from a bad image, Pôle Emploi has multiplied thematic weeks in recent months as part of the All Mobilized operation. This is the case all this week for the health and care professions and it will also be at the end of March for the sea professions.