Unemployment rate rose to 7.4% in the third quarter

The unemployment rate recorded a rise in the third quarter to 7.4% of the active population in France (excluding Mayotte), up from 7.2 in the second quarter, according to data published this Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Research (INSEE). ).

“We could expect this kind of growth given the slowdown in the global economy,” Labor Minister Olivier Dussop immediately confirmed in a press message, confirming that he would remain “mobilized” in the face of this growth and, he hopes, be “punctual.” .

In the third quarter, the number of unemployed people, as defined by the International Labor Office (ILO), increased from 64 thousand to 2.3 million people, INSEE notes in a press release.

Youth unemployment is rising

The third-quarter unemployment rate increases 0.2 points year over year and returns to the second-quarter 2022 level, but remains well below the mid-2015 peak of -3.1 points, the institute said.

During the quarter, the unemployment rate among youth 15-24 years old increased by 0.7 points, to 17.6%, almost to the level a year earlier (-0.1 points).

Among those aged 25–49, it increased by 0.2 points over the quarter and 0.3 points over the year, to 6.7%. Finally, among people age 50 and older, the unemployment rate remained stable over the quarter and year at 5.1%.

The long-term unemployment rate (minimum one year) also remained stable during the quarter at 1.8% of the active population.

The “halo around unemployment”, that is, people who want to return to the labor market, but are not considered by the ILO as unemployed (actually looking for work and ready to get it), increases “slightly” over the quarter (+ 39,000) and significantly more than a year (+164 000), according to INSEE. Two million people were affected.