An article of law which provides for the indexation of unemployment compensation criteria on the state of the labor market was adopted at first reading on Tuesday 4 October in the National Assembly.
Access to unemployment benefits will soon depend on the state of the labor market as a whole. In any case, this is the objective of the text which has just been adopted at first reading this Tuesday, October 4 by the National Assembly, and which will be implemented by the beginning of 2023. Unemployment insurance will be “stricter when too many jobs are unfilled, more generous when unemployment is high” in the words of Emmanuel Macron during the presidential campaign. Voted 203 votes against 165, the project is not unanimous and has notably been shouted down by both the Union de la Gauche and the National Rally. For the leader of the LFi deputies, Mathilde Panot, this text “declares war on the unemployed.” The party believes that this law could put some job seekers in difficulty. Caroline Colombier, RN deputy, for her part, challenged the “authoritarian method” of the government.
Inspired by the Canadian system, this law aims to combat recruitment difficulties, particularly in the hotel and restaurant sectors. This text is presented as a sine qua non for achieving the objective of full employment for 2027. The idea being initially to reduce the unemployment rate to around 5% instead of the current 7.3%. The executive promises a “very differentiated application for the overseas territories”, which are harder hit by unemployment. The examination of the unemployment insurance reform bill continues this Wednesday, October 5. A consultation of about ten days will be organized with the social partners thereafter, before a passage in the Senate from October 25.
Unemployment insurance: major changes since 2021
In the second quarter of 2022 we count nearly 2.3 million unemployed in Francewhich corresponds to 7.4% of assets. The rules have already changed for these unemployed since December 2021: to be eligible for compensation, you must have worked 6 months in the last 24 months, instead of 4 months previously. The degressivity of the compensation also starts much earlier: from the 7th month instead of the 9th since the end of 2021. The calculation of the allowance should not be modified for the moment. Currently it is done in two different ways: i.e. 40.4% of your daily reference salary + a fixed part of €12.47, either simply 57% of your daily reference salary. This reference salary corresponds to the total remuneration of the employment contract(s) in the period used to calculate your rights.