France: Unemployment falls sharply in August
A further fall in unemployment, for the fourth consecutive month, was recorded in August in France.
– 4,3% in August
The 4.3% drop in the number of jobseekers in August is explained, as in previous months, by the transfer of unemployed people from category A (completely unemployed) to categories B and C (reduced activity of fewer than 78 hours per month and over 78 hours per month respectively) as economic activity picks up. This figure represents a reduction of 174,800 in the number of people registered in category A.
As noted by the BFM TV channel and the French press, this decrease does not, however, make up for the increases in March and April because of the lockdown. The number of people registered in category A, therefore, remains at a high level (3.872 million), i.e. 385,000 more unemployed than at the end of February. The number of people in categories A, B and C remains above 6 million (6.101), a slight decrease of 0.2%.
Temporary work and fixed-term contracts are back
This drop of category A is therefore explained by a movement of jobseekers towards categories B and C, particularly via a resumption of temporary work and a restart of fixed-term contracts.
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These figures confirm other recently published indicators. The number of reports of hiring for over one month (excluding temporary workers) rose by 9.8% in August according to the Central Agency of Social Security Bodies (Agence centrale des organismes de sécurité sociale – Acoss). In August, 180,000 young people were hired, a figure 9% higher than last year, said Labour Minister Elisabeth Borne.