13 March 2018

2018- n° 61

In Q4 2017, payroll employment accelerated in all private sectors and continued to decrease in public service Payroll employment - fourth quarter 2017

In Q4 2017, net payroll job creation reached 72,700, that is an increase of +0.3% after an increase of +0.2% in the previous quarter. Payroll employment increased by 82,300 in the private sector while it decreased by 9,600 in the public sector because of the decline in the number of subsidised employment contracts. Year on year, it rose by 268,800 net jobs (+1.1%): 277,700 jobs were created in the private sector and 8,900 jobs were destroyed in the public service.

In Q4 2017, payroll employment in industry rose by +6,400 (that is +0.2%, after 0.0%), its first increase since 2001. Year on year, the employment in industry is almost stable (that is +1,100).

Likewise, the employment recovery in construction seems to have been confirmed. It accelerated at the end of 2017: +13,200 (that is +1.0%), after +2,500 in the previous quarter. Year on year, the increase reached +30,100 jobs (that is +2.3%), that is the largest increase since 2007.

In Q4 2017, payroll employment increased by 59,700, that is +0.5%, after +0.4% in the previous quarter. Year on year, the market service sector as a whole supported the large majority of net jobs creations of payroll employment: +225,700, that is +1.9%.

Temporary employment continued to increase strongly in Q4 2017: it rose by 15,400 jobs i.e. +2.1% after +1.5% in Q3 2017. Over a year, it increased very sharply: +56,200, that is +8.2%. Employment in services excluding temporary work increased steadily again in Q4 2017: +44,300 jobs (i.e. +0.4 %, after +0.3%). Over a year, the market service sector excluding temporary work expanded by 169,500 jobs (+1.5%).

Employment in mainly non-market services continued to decrease in Q4 2017: −7,700, after −4,900 in the previous quarter. This downturn was mainly due to the public service, (−9,600 jobs, after -7,900), because of the decline in the number of subsidised employment contracts. Over a year, mainly non-market services created 6,900 net jobs (that is +0.1%), of which 17,700 were in the private sector and −10 800 in public service.

Compared to the employment estimate published on 12 December 2017, net job creation of Q3 2017 has been revised downwards by 4,400 mainly due to the revision in market services. Compared to the flash estimate focused on the private sector alone published on 13 February 2018, net job creation in Q4 2017 has been revised upwards by 29,000, each of the business sectors contributing to the revision. Finally, due to the integration of the definitive annual employment estimates for 2015, the increase in payroll employment in 2015 was reduced by 25,400, mainly in market services and construction.