Informations Rapides · 13 November 2025 · n° 279

In Q3 2025, the unemployment rate stood at 7.7%, up by 0.3 points over the year ILO Unemployment and Labour Market-related indicators (Labour Force Survey results) - third quarter 2025

In Q3 2025, the number of unemployed people in France (excluding Mayotte) as defined by the International Labour Office (ILO) increased by 44,000 over the quarter and reached 2.4 million people. The ILO unemployment rate was virtually stable over the quarter (+0.1 points) at 7.7% of the labour force, with the unemployment rate for Q2 2025 slightly revised upwards (+0.1 points, from 7.5% to 7.6%). Thus, the unemployment rate stood 0.3 points above its Q3 2024 level but was still clearly below its peak level reached in Q2 2015 (-2.8 points).

Over the quarter, the unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 24 decreased by 0.2 points bringing the year-on-year decrease to 0.8 points, reaching 18.8%. For people aged 25 to 49, it rose by 0.2 points over the quarter and by 0.5 points over the year, to 7.1%. Finally, for people aged 50 or more, the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 points over the quarter and by 0.4 points over the year, to 5.1%.

Women’s unemployment rate rose over the quarter by 0.3 points, to 7.7 % and over the year (+0.6 points). It caught up men’s unemployment rate which remained stable over the quarter and virtually stable over the year (+0.1 points).

Q3 2025 is also the third quarter in which the French “full employment Act” (Loi pour le plein emploi) was implemented, with an upward contribution of RSA recipients on the activity rate and on the unemployment rate over the quarter and cumulatively over three quarters (see box).

Among the inactive people as defined by the ILO, 1.9 million wanted a job without being considered unemployed, because they either did not seek a job or were not immediately available: they made up the halo around unemployment. This number increased very slightly over the quarter (+13,000).

Thus, the share of halo in the population of people aged 15 to 64 was stable over the quarter at 4.4%, and virtually stable over the year (+0.1 points). Over the quarter, the share of halo was virtually stable for people aged 15 to 24 (+0.1 points to 7.3%) and stable for people aged 25 to 49 (at 4.3%) and for those aged 50 to 64 (at 2.8%). Over the year, the share of halo rose by 0.7 points amongst people aged 15 to 24, especially among those following initial studies, while it remained stable for those aged 25 to 49, and virtually stable (-0.1 points) for those aged 50 to 64.

Among the unemployed, 580,000 people on average declared being jobless and having been job seeking for at least one year in Q3 2025, that is 41,000 more than previous quarter. The long-term unemployment rate was therefore virtually stable over the quarter and over the year (+0.1 points), at 1.8% of the labour force. It remained 0.4 points below its end of 2019 level.

On average, in Q3 2025, the employment rate of people aged 15 to 64 fell back very slightly over the quarter (-0.1 point), to 69.4%, after reaching, in the first and second quarters, its highest level since INSEE started measuring it (1975). It stood very slightly above its level a year ago (+0.1 points).

For people aged 15 to 24, the employment rate decreased over the quarter (-0.3 points) to 34.7% and was almost back to its Q3 2024 level (+0.1 points). For people aged 25 to 49, it decreased by 0.3 points over the quarter, to 82.8%, that is 0.2 points below the level it was a year ago. Finally, among people aged 50 to 64, the employment rate stalled at 69.3%, it was higher than its Q3 2024 level (+0.4 points) and remained at its highest level since INSEE started measuring it (1975). In particular, the employment rate for people aged 55 to 64 increased very slightly over the quarter (+0.1 points), to 61.8%, that is +0.9 points than its level from a year ago, and also reached its highest level since 1975.

In Q3 2025, the full-time employment rate was virtually stable over the quarter (-0.1 point) and over the year (-0.1 points), at 57.6%. The part-time employment was stable over the quarter, at 11.8%, that is 0.2 points higher than its level from a year ago. The share of part-time employment in total employment is virtually stable (-0.1 points) at 17.7% over the quarter but remains higher than its level from a year ago (+0.2 points). This share stood above its lowest level since 1996 (17.1% in Q3 and Q4 2022) but 1.1 points below its level at the end of 2019.

In Q3 2025, 4.4% of employed people were underemployed. This share was virtually stable over the quarter (-0.1 points) and over the year (+0.1 points) and remained 1.5 points below its end of 2019 level.

On average, in Q3 2025, 16.8% of participants in the labour market (active people or in the halo around unemployment) were constrained in their labour supply, either by the absence of a job (unemployed or halo around unemployment), or in a situation of underemployment. This share rose by 0.2 points over the quarter and by 0.6 points over the year, but remained clearly below its level at the end of 2019 (-2.1 points).

In Q3 2025, the average number of hours worked per job was virtually stable both over the quarter and over the year, at 31.1 hours per week. Since mid-2022, the number of hours worked has slightly fluctuated around its level before the health crisis (31.3 hours in Q4 2019).

The permanent employment rate for people aged 15 to 64 rose (+0.2 points) over the quarter, to 51.3%, at a level almost similar than a year ago (+0.1 points). The employment rate on fixed-term contract or temporary work was virtually stable over the quarter (-0.1 points), and slightly decreased over the year (-0.2 points), at 6.4%. The self-employment fell back by 0.3 points over the quarter to 8.8%, after +0.2 points in Q2 2025; it was stable over the year. Finally, the work-study employment rate was stable on average over the quarter, at 2.5%, above its Q3 2024 level (+0.2 points).

The activity rate of people aged 15 to 64 stood at 75.2%, and was virtually stable over the quarter (-0.1 points), after it reached on previous quartier its highest level since INSEE started measuring it (1975). It stood 0.3 points above its level from a year ago and 2.4 points above its level at the end of 2019.

Over the quarter, the activity rate for young people decreased by 0.5 points, to 42.7%. It stood 0.3 points below its level from a year ago. For people aged 25 to 49, it decreased by 0.2 points over the quarter to 89.1%, but it stood 0.3 points above its level from one year ago. Finally, for people aged 50 to 64, the activity rate increased by 0.2 points over the quarter, bringing the year-on-year rise to 0.8 points: it reached 73.1%, its highest level since INSEE started measuring it (1975).

In Q3 2025, the share of young people aged 15 to 29 neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET) decreased by 0.2 points, to 12.5%. This share stood 0.3 points above both its level from a year ago and its end of 2019 level.

Compared to the first estimate published on 8 August 2025, the ILO unemployment rate for Q2 2025 was revised upwards by 0.1 points to 7.6% and the employment rate was revised downwards by 0.1 points. This adjustment is due to the usual updating of seasonal adjustment coefficients. The activity rate of people aged 15 to 64 remained unchanged.