In the second quarter, 119,400 jobs were wiped out in France, according to data published by the national statistics institute INSEE on Friday, after already 497,000 in the first quarter. Industry and services are still struggling, even though temporary jobs have bounced back. Construction finished the quarter slightly positive.

The fall is less steep than in the first quarter but still strong. After falling by 2.5% between January and March, private salaried employment fell by 0.6% between April and June, according to data published this Friday morning by INSEE.

This means 119,400 job losses, after 497,500 in the previous quarter. Over one year, the losses have now reached 480,800 jobs.

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Historical figures

Data on non-agricultural market employment, which includes industry, construction and services, provides a measure of the historical magnitude of the fall following the crisis caused by the Covid-19 epidemic.

The 3.4% drop is the largest half-year decline since the measures began in 1970. And it is twice as big as the shock to the French economy suffered from the subprime crisis.

The second quarter saw industry suffer even more than in the first, with a doubling of the decrease in the number of salaried employees, with -24,300 positions compared to -12,100 in the first quarter. Services also, both market and non-market, recorded further losses (-71,700 and -22,800 respectively).

Despite this, the figures published by INSEE also contain some points, particularly on the temporary work side, which, without giving rise to hope for a rapid recovery, are positive signals. After falling by over 300,000 jobs in the first quarter, temporary work rebounded, with 108,100 jobs created in the second.

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The social buffer role of short-time working

Another dynamic fact is that construction has created jobs again. Even if the 3,700 jobs recorded do not make up for the 5,600 lost in the first quarter, this has enabled it to return almost to its pre-crisis level, INSEE points out.

However, the slowdown in job losses should not inspire over-optimism.

It should not be forgotten that between March and June, French companies massively used the short-time working scheme, which played a major role as a social shock absorber.

The eligibility criteria were tightened at the beginning of June and a further tightening is planned for the autumn, limiting its attractiveness. This is likely to weigh on the salaried employment figures for the third quarter.

Everyone is forecasting a sharp rise in redundancies this autumn.