Informations Rapides ·
6 November 2025 · n° 278
In Q3 2025, private payroll employment fell back by 0.3% Flash estimate of payroll employment - third quarter 2025
Between June 2025 and September 2025, private payroll employment declined by 0.3% (that is -60,600 jobs), after an increase by 0.2% in the previous quarter (that is +43,400 jobs). Over the quarter, work-study contracts accounted for approximately two-thirds of the decline in private payroll employment.
Over a year, private payroll employment declined by 0.5% compared to the last year (that is -112,100 jobs); this was the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline after almost four years of increase. It far exceeded its pre-pandemic level (end of Q4 2019) by +5.2% (that is +1.0 million jobs).
- In Q3 2025, private payroll employment decreased by 0.3% and was below its Q3 2024 level by 0.5%
- Temporary employment fell back slightly
- Excluding temporary work, private payroll employment was virtually stable in industry and kept decreasing in construction
- Employment fell back in market services (excluding temporary work) and in non-market services
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In Q3 2025, private payroll employment decreased by 0.3% and was below its Q3 2024 level by 0.5%
Between June 2025 and September 2025, private payroll employment declined by 0.3% (that is -60,600 jobs), after an increase by 0.2% in the previous quarter (that is +43,400 jobs). Over the quarter, work-study contracts accounted for approximately two-thirds of the decline in private payroll employment.
Over a year, private payroll employment declined by 0.5% compared to the last year (that is -112,100 jobs); this was the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline after almost four years of increase. It far exceeded its pre-pandemic level (end of Q4 2019) by +5.2% (that is +1.0 million jobs).
Temporary employment fell back slightly
In Q3 2025, temporary employment declined slightly (-0.2% that is -1,700 jobs) after an increase of the same magnitude in the previous quarter (+0.2% that is +1,300 jobs). Temporary employment was below its Q3 2024 level by 2.6% (that is -18,600 jobs) and by 8.6% its pre-pandemic level (that is -67,000 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, services).
Excluding temporary work, private payroll employment was virtually stable in industry and kept decreasing in construction
Between June 2025 and September 2025, private payroll employment excluding temporary work in agriculture decreased by 1.6% (that is -5,000 jobs), after +0.1% in the previous quarter (+400 jobs). It was 2.3% below its level at the end of September 2024.
Industrial private payroll employment (excluding temporary work) remained virtually stable in Q3 2025: -0.1%, after -0.1% in the previous quarter (that is -3,200 jobs after -4,500 jobs). It was 0.4% below its level at the end of September 2024 (that is -11,500 jobs). It exceeded sharply its pre-pandemic level (+2.0% that is +64,100 jobs).
In construction, private payroll employment decreased for the eleventh consecutive quarter: -0.3% (that is -4,600 jobs) after already -0.3% in the previous quarter (that is -4,700 jobs), bringing the year-on-year fall to -1.6% (that is -25,300 jobs). It exceeded sharply its pre-pandemic level (+3.7%, that is +55,300 jobs compared to the end of 2019).
Employment fell back in market services (excluding temporary work) and in non-market services
In Q3 2025, in market services, private payroll employment (excluding temporary work) decreased by 0.3% (that is -36,600 jobs), after a rise of the same magnitude in the previous quarter (+0.3% that is +37,200 jobs). With the exception of 2020, which was affected by the pandemic crisis, this was the sharpest quarterly decline in this sector since the second quarter of 2013. Private payroll employment in market services was below its Q3 2024 level by 0.4% (that is -53,600 jobs), but still exceeded sharply its pre-pandemic level (+6.9% compared to the end of 2019 or +808,600 jobs).
In non-market services, private payroll employment (excluding temporary work) fell back also:-0.3% after +0.5% in the previous quarter (that is -9,500 jobs after +13,600 jobs). It exceeded its Q3 2024 level by 0.2% (or +4,200 jobs) and its end of 2019 level by 5.9% (or +153,700 jobs).
tableauPrivate payroll employment change – in thousands
| Change in thousands in 3 months | Change in thousands in 1 year | Change in thousands compared to the end of 2019 | Level | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q2 | 2025 Q3 | 2025 Q3 | 2025 Q3 | 2025 Q3 | |
| Agriculture | 0.4 | -5.0 | -7.3 | 15.2 | 316.7 |
| Goods-producing industries excl. Construction | -4.5 | -3.2 | -11.5 | 64.1 | 3,193.6 |
| Construction | -4.7 | -4.6 | -25.3 | 55.3 | 1,533.7 |
| Market services | 38.5 | -38.3 | -72.1 | 741.6 | 13,152.0 |
| Temporary employment (*) | 1.3 | -1.7 | -18.6 | -67.0 | 708.9 |
| Excluding temporary work | 37.2 | -36.6 | -53.6 | 808.6 | 12,443.2 |
| Non-market services | 13.6 | -9.5 | 4.2 | 153.7 | 2,775.2 |
| Total Private | 43.4 | -60.6 | -112.1 | 1,030.0 | 20,971.3 |
- (*) Temporary workers are recorded in services, regardless of the sector in which they carry out their mission effectively.
- How to read it: In Q3 2025, net private job creations in agriculture declined by 5,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
- Scope: private payroll employment; France, excluding Mayotte.
- Sources : URSSAF, INSEE and DARES.
tableauPrivate payroll employment change – in percentage points
| Change in percentage points in 3 months | Change in percentage points in 1 year | Change in percentage points compared to the end of 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q2 | 2025Q3 | 2025Q3 | 2025 Q3 | |
| Agriculture | 0.1 | -1.6 | -2.3 | 5.1 |
| Goods-producing industries excl. Construction | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.4 | 2.0 |
| Construction | -0.3 | -0.3 | -1.6 | 3.7 |
| Market services | 0.3 | -0.3 | -0.5 | 6.0 |
| Temporary employment (*) | 0.2 | -0.2 | -2.6 | -8.6 |
| Excluding temporary work | 0.3 | -0.3 | -0.4 | 6.9 |
| Non-market services | 0.5 | -0.3 | 0.2 | 5.9 |
| Total Private | 0.2 | -0.3 | -0.5 | 5.2 |
- (*) Temporary workers are recorded in services, regardless of the sector in which they carry out their mission effectively.
- Scope: private payroll employment; France, excluding Mayotte.
- Sources: URSSAF, INSEE and DARES.
For more information
Next issue of the detailed estimate for the third quarter of 2025: 28 November 2025 at 8:45 am
Next issue of the flash estimate for the fourth quarter of 2025: 30 January 2026 at 8:45 am; from 2026 onwards, the flash estimate for private payroll employment will be published less than 30 days after the end of the quarter in question (compared with an average of 37 days previously).
Documentation
Methodology Employment Flash November 2024 (pdf,492 Ko)
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