Insee Focus · December 2021 · n° 255

In 2020, employment dropped for the first time since 2009

Between the end of 2019 and the end of 2020, employment in France fell sharply : –261.000 after +406.000 during the previous year. This drop is due to a decline in salaried employment, mainly in the market services sector and to a lesser extent in industry. On the contrary, salaried employment increased in the construction sector and in the non-market services sector.

As for non-salaried employment, it increased in 2020, driven by large job-creation under the « micro-entrepreneur » scheme, but at a slower pace than the previous year. In total, employment decreased in almost all regions, especially in Île-de-France and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.