Informations Rapides · 29 August 2025 · n° 219

In Q2 2025, payroll employment increased by +0.2% Payroll employment - second quarter 2025

In Q2 2025, payroll employment rose slightly (+0.2% that is +51,900 net job creations) after a virtual stability in the previous quarter (-0.1% that is -18,800 jobs). It was stable compared to a year ago (that is -4,500 jobs) but exceeded sharply its pre-sanitary crisis level (end of 2019) by 5.0% (that is 1.3 million additional jobs).

In Q2 2025, private payroll employment rebounded slightly: +0.2% after -0.1% (that is +43,400 jobs after -27,600 jobs). It was below its Q2 2024 level by 0.1% (that is -27,900 jobs) and exceeded its pre-sanitary crisis level by 5.5% (that is +1.1 million jobs).

Public payroll employment was virtually stable in Q2 2025: +0.1% after +0.1% in Q1 2025 (that is +8,500 jobs after +8,800 jobs). It increased by 0.4% over a year (that is +23,400 jobs) and by 3.5% compared with Q4 2019 (that is +0,2 million jobs).

In Q2 2025, temporary employment increased slightly (+0.2%, that is +1,300 jobs), after nine consecutive quarters of decline. Temporary employment was below its Q2 2024 level by 3.3% (that is -24,500 jobs) and 8.4% below its pre-sanitary crisis level (that is -65,200 jobs).

As a reminder, in this publication temporary workers are accounted for in the temporary employment sector which pays them (within market services), whichever sector they carry out their assignment (agriculture, industry, construction, market or non market services).

In Q2 2025, payroll employment in agriculture was virtually stable (+0.1% that is +400 jobs), and exceeded its level from a year ago by 0,2% (that is +700 jobs).

Industrial payroll employment (excluding temporary work) was virtually stable in Q2 2025 (-0.1% that is -4,100 jobs). It decreased slightly over one year (-0.2%, that is -5,900 jobs) and exceeded its pre-sanitary crisis level by 2.3% (that is +74,400 jobs).

In construction, payroll employment (excluding temporary work) decreased again: -0.3% in Q2 2025 (that is -4,700 jobs) after -0.5% (that is -8,500 jobs); bringing the year-on-year decrease to 1.7%. It still remained well above its pre-sanitary crisis level (+4.1% that is +60,000 jobs).

In Q2 2025, payroll employment in market services (excluding temporary work) increased anew: +0.3% after -0.2% in the previous quarter (that is +39,900 jobs after -24,300 jobs). It slightly exceeded it Q2 2024 level by 0.1%. Payroll employment in market services (excluding temporary work) exceeded still largely its pre-sanitary crisis level by 7.3% (that is +0,9 million jobs). In market services, excluding temporary work, payroll employment was dynamic in accommodation and food service activities (that is +21,100 jobs), in other service activities (that is +11,900 jobs excluding temporary work) and, to a lesser extent, in professional, scientific and technical activities (that is +5,400 jobs) and in transportation and storage (that is +4,100 jobs).

In Q2 2025, payroll employment in non-market services increased again: +0.2% after +0.3% in the previous quarter (that is +19,100 jobs after +22,300 jobs).The increase concerned both its public (+5,400 jobs) and private (+13,600 jobs) components. By sector of activity, it increased particularly in health and social work activities (that is +16,300 jobs). Payroll employment in non-market services topped its Q2 2024 level by 0.5% (that is +40,200 jobs) and its pre-sanitary crisis level by 4,2% (that is +0.4 million jobs).

In Q2 2025, private payroll employment was stable for people aged 15-29 years old, virtually stable for people aged 30-54 years and increased sharply for people aged 55 years old and more. Over a year, private payroll employment for people aged 55 years old and more went up sharply (+2.0%, that is +75,600 jobs), and, on the contrary, declined by 0.6% for other age groups. The respective trends for women and men were very similar over the quarter and over the year.

In the private sector, in Q2 2025, permanent contracts were virtually stable over one quarter and over a year. Fixed-term contracts (excluding work-study) and temporary work rebounded slightly over quarter, but remained down year on year and compared to its pre-sanitary crisis level. Work-study contracts increased over a quarter and over a year, although at a much slower pace that observed between 2020 and 2022.

Compared to the flash estimate published on 6 August 2025, the payroll employment in the private sector alone in Q2 2025 has been revised upwards by 48,200 jobs, with its relative evolution revised upwards by 0.2 points. This revision is mainly visible in market service and non market service (including temporary work) and, to a lesser extent in agriculture.

Compared to the employment detailed estimate published on 28 May 2025, the quarterly change in payroll employment (private and public) in Q1 2025 has been barely revised upwards by 2,100 jobs.