Over the last thirty years, the labour market has seen some profound changes. The labour force has grown constantly, mainly due to demographics, but in addition working behaviour has changed significantly: there are now many women in the labour market, while young people and older workers have been partly excluded. These changes, along with the increase in qualifications, have altered the structure of jobs. At the same time, temporary contracts and part-time work have grown apace. Total unemployment increased significantly between the mid-1970s and the mid-1980s, then fluctuated with the economic cycle, although some major disparities emerged, especially according to age and qualifications. While the unemployment rate for men was structurally lower than for women, the difference has gradually decreased over thirty years. The link between growth and the change in unemployment has intensified since the beginning of the 1990s.