As at the end of 2019, 28.5 million people were in employment in France, i.e. 359,000 more jobs than one year previously, after 225,000 net creations in 2018. This acceleration came primarily from private salaried employment, particularly in the tertiary sector and construction. Public employment rebounded at a moderate pace, above all because the number of beneficiaries of subsidised contracts fell less than in the two previous years.

Part-time employment declined again, falling to 18.1% in 2019, after having gained 1.7 points between 2008 and 2017. Under-employment continued to drop, accounting for 5.4% of all employment, i.e. a 1.3-point reduction on 2015.

The activity rate of people aged 15-64 remained more or less stable in 2019, at 71.7%, after an almost continuous rise since 2007, with 2018 marking its highest level since 1975. In 2019, the activity rate of people aged 15-24 fell, while the rate for those aged 60-64 continued its growth as a result of successive pension reforms. Since 2007, the activity rate of people aged 65-69 has more than doubled, though it still remains low (7.8%). The unemployment rate came out at 8.4% of the working population in 2019 as an annual average. It fell for the fourth consecutive year, giving an overall decrease of 1.9 percentage point since 2015. Nevertheless, it remains 1.0 percentage point higher than its last low point in 2008. After having risen sharply between 2008 and 2016, the proportion of people on the ‘halo of unemployment’ among 15-64-year-olds remained stable overall; however, the number of these people was significantly higher at the end of 2019 than one year previously.

The purchasing power of the average per capita wage accelerated rapidly in 2019 in the private sector, due, in particular, to the drop in inflation and the payment of the special bonus for purchasing power (PEPA) in Q1. There was barely any acceleration in the public sector.

In 2019, labour costs slowed (+ 1.9%, after + 2.6% in 2018) but remained much more dynamic than over the last five years. Since 2018, measures that had reduced labour costs by 4.3 percentage points between 2013 and 2017 were stopped or adjusted.