Informations Rapides · 23 September 2025 · n° 238

In Q2 2025, payroll employment was on the rise in half of the regions Localized employment and unemployment rates (by region and department) - second quarter 2025

Between the end of March 2025 and the end of June 2025, payroll employment in France as a whole (excluding Mayotte) rose slightly (+0.2 %), after remaining virtually stable (-0.1 %) in the first quarter of 2025.

In Q2 2025, at regional level, payroll employment declined significantly in only one region: Guadeloupe (-0.2 %). It remained virtually stable in eight regions and increased by 0.2 % or more in eight regions. In particular, it increased by 0.4 % in Bretagne and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.At the departmental level, payroll employment was almost stable in two out of five departments. It fell by 0.2 % or 0.3 % in eight departments, and by 0.4 % or more in three departments: Creuse (-0.4 %), Yvelines (-0.4 %) and Charente (-0.6 %). Payroll employment increased in nearly half of the departments, with increases ranging from 0.2 % to 0.8 %.

At the national level, in Q2 2025, total payroll employment was stable compared to the second quarter of 2024 (+0.0 %), whereas it had risen by 0.5 % between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024.

At the end of June 2025, payroll employment was at least 0.2 % lower than a year earlier in six regions. In metropolitan France, it fell in Grand-Est, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Normandie, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, and Pays de la Loire. In the French overseas regions, the situation was more mixed, with payroll employment falling by 0.8 % in Martinique, rising by 1.2 % in Guyane, and remaining virtually stable in the other two overseas regions.

Payroll employment fell in more than four out of ten departments. It declined by more than 0.8 % in twelve metropolitan departments, mainly located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, and Grand Est regions. Payroll employment fell most sharply in Charente (-2.0 %), Territoire-de-Belfort (-1.5 %), Aube and Orne (-1.4 %).

In contrast, payroll employment rose by between 0.2 % and 1.6 % in twenty-eight departments in metropolitan France, more than half of which are located in the south of metropolitan France.

In Q2 2025, nationwide (excluding Mayotte), the ILO unemployment rate rose slightly over one year (+0.2 points), at 7.5 % of the labour force.

Between the second quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2025, the unemployment rate remained virtually stable (between -0.1 points and +0.1 points included) in four regions, rose in ten regions, and fell in three regions. It fell by 0.2 points in Martinique, by 1.1 points in Réunion, and by 1.3 points in Guyane. The unemployment rate rose most sharply in Île-de-France (+0.4 points) and Guadeloupe (+1.2 points).

In the second quarter of 2025, the unemployment rate was highest in the French overseas regions, ranging from 13.9 % in Martinique to 17.1 % in Guyane. In metropolitan France, three regions had unemployment rates higher than the national average (7.5 %): Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (8.0 %), Occitanie (8.9 %) and Hauts-de-France (9.0 %). Conversely, the unemployment rate was the lowest in Pays de la Loire and Bretagne (6.1 %). In these two regions, unemployment rates of all departments were below the national average. Situations within a region can be much more contrasted, for example in Île-de-France or Occitanie. In Île-de-France, where the unemployment rate measured across the region (7.3 %) was slightly lower than the national level, it was lower in Paris (6.0 %) and in Hauts-de-Seine (6.5 %), and conversely higher in Seine-Saint-Denis (10.6 %). The contrast was even stronger in Occitanie, between Lozère, the department with the second lowest unemployment rate in France (4.7 %), and Pyrénées-Orientales, where the rate is the highest in metropolitan France (11.9 %).