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"Labour-Employment-Training" statistical office

The "ministerial statistical office for Labour and Employment" is the Directorate for Research, Studies, and Statistics (Direction de l'Animation de la Recherche, des Études et des Statistiques: DARES).

Its scope of investigation includes employment, the labour market, unemployment, compensation of employees, working conditions, employer-employee relations, collective bargaining, and workforce training.

Contents

Main missions

DARES is in charge of producing statistics in the areas of labour and employment for use by the Ministry and social players—including social partners, regional governing councils (conseils régionaux), players in public-sector employment, and media specializing in economic and social issues.

Within the ministries, it also takes initiatives, makes proposals, and issues alerts in response to trends observed via statistics, studies, and research. In liaison with the other departments of its ministries, it coordinates assessment policy.

With the consent of the Ministry of Education, of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), it conducts programs to mobilize research organizations on what they regard as priority issues concerning labour, employment, unemployment, and continuing education.

DARES interfaces between the Ministry and the research community.

Statistical production

DARES designs, collects, processes, and disseminates statistical data and studies in the field of labour, employment, and continuing education.

It executes surveys and develops information systems based on administrative data obtained through policy implementation. In this capacity, it is responsible for the Ministry's statistical information system. It commissions qualitative and quantitative studies from outside researchers.

For this purpose, it draws on contributions by organizations supervised by the Ministry, such as the Employment Agency (Pôle Emploi) and the Adult Continuing-Education Association (Association pour la Formation Professionnelle des Adultes: AFPA).

Data collected by DARES typically concern institutions and individuals benefiting from employment-support measures. This material is supplemented by extensive use of data gathered by INSEE.

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Studies and forecasting

The DARES is in charge of preparing the annual program of statistical operations and studies, assessments and research projects of the ministries, taking account of social demand and the needs of various partners.

The unit reports on current developments to the Minister.

It assists in policy-making, most notably by preparing estimates of the impact of public policies on employment and unemployment.

It compiles summary assessments of current conditions prior to policy development, in particular with estimates of the foreseeable effects of public policies on employment and unemployment.

DARES coordinates the study programs carried out under its aegis, and oversees research in these fields. In particular, DARES supervises the work of the Center for Employment Studies (Centre d'Études de l'Emploi: CEE) and—jointly with the Education Ministry—the work of the Center for Studies and Research on Occupational Skills (Centre d'Études et de Recherche sur les Qualifications: CEREQ).

DARES develops assessment methodologies. In this capacity, it is active in the post-implementation phase of employment and continuing-education policies with the aim of steadily improving their effectiveness in meeting government objectives.

The DARES is responsible for regional coordination of statistics, studies and assessments in its area of competence for the Regional Enterprise, Competition, Consumption, Labour and Employment Departments (DIRECCTE) set up from 2009 onwards, and the Regional Labour, Employment and Lifelong Education Departments (DRTEFP). In each DRTEFP, a "Studies-Forecasting-Assessment-Statistics" unit (Service "Études-Prospective-Évaluation-Statistiques": SEPES) contributes its technical expertise to help decentralized offices perform their specific tasks in implementing Ministry policies.

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Dissemination

DARES makes its results available to all social players and the wider public through printed publications and online.

It publicizes studies and assessments by organizing study days that bring researchers and players together, allowing a comparison between theory and practice.

DARES also participates in the work of international organizations and regularly supplies data to Eurostat and the International Labour Office (ILO).

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Status in institution

DARES operates under the joint authority of two ministers (Economy, Industry and Employment; Labour, Solidarity and Civil Service).

It comprises three sub-directorates, two cross-sectional missions, and four administration and dissemination units.

  • The Sub-Directorate for Employment and the Labour Market is in charge of statistics and studies on unemployment, employment, and workplace skills.
  • The Sub-Directorate for Wages and Salaries, Labour, and Workplace Relations is responsible for statistics and studies on wage- and salary-earners and payroll employment.
  • The Sub-Directorate for Monitoring and Assessment of Employment and Continuing-Education Policies is in charge of (1) statistical tracking of official measures in the field of employment and training and (2) assessing these policies through surveys and studies. It contributes to the inter-ministerial assessment of public policies in the areas of employment and training. Within the Ministry, it administers data on employment and training policies.
  • The Sub-Directorate for Regional Action, Dissemination and Resources is responsible for coordinating the network of regional statisticians and managing support functions.
  • The two Missions deal with economic analysis and research coordination respectively.

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