Three months before the presidential election, the latest unemployment figures confirm the upturn in employment in France in 2021. Fourth quarter figures published Wednesday, January 26 by Dares, the statistical service of the Ministry of Labor, show that the number of jobseekers registered in category A (people actively seeking who have not exercised a professional activity the previous month) is at its highest low level since the third quarter of 2012.
480,000 fewer unemployed
In category A, the drop reached nearly 13% in 2021 compared to 2020, the year in which the Covid-19 pandemic put the French economy in difficulty. This represents 480,000 fewer job seekers. Including categories B and C (those of the unemployed who worked at least a few hours during the month), the drop remains strong, nearly 6% compared to 2020.
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At the end of last year, the number of category A unemployed stood at 3,335,600 compared to 3,544,100 in the previous quarter. This decline is more marked among young people (–7.9%) than among 25-49 year olds (–6.4%) and seniors (–3.8%). The number of unemployed in categories A, B and C also fell by 3.6% over the last three months, dropping from 5,871,200 to 5,658,900 people.