The workforce remains attractive in a record labor market


Contrary to what has sometimes been announced, neither the Covid-19 and the confinements, nor the drop in the unemployment rate have diverted the French from employment. 567936543/M+Insulation+Photo – stock.adobe.com

With 68.1% of 15-64 year olds in employment, France is experiencing its all-time high.

War in Ukraine, inflation, various shortages… The year 2022 will have spared nothing for the French economy. All these shocks, however, seem to have slipped through the labor market without ever hitting it. The latter has indeed displayed an insolent form over the past twelve months, confirms “photography of the labor market in 2022” published this Tuesday by INSEE. With 68.1% of people aged 15 to 64 in employment, as defined by the International Labor Office (ILO), the country is experiencing its highest level since the statistical body began measuring it in 1975.

An insolent health which translates mechanically into the drop in the unemployment rate. It stands at 7.3% on average over the year 2022, down three points compared to 2015. More strikingly, this good dynamic is also reflected in the “halo” around unemployment (corresponds to people available for working but not taking any real steps to find a job), which fell by 0.2 points compared to 2021, reaching 4.4% among 15-64 year olds.

The proportion of people in a situation of partial unemployment fell back and returned to its 2019 level. The fall in part-time work is also accentuated – taking advantage “mainly for women”, points out Insee. All of this leads to a net decline in underemployment over the year

Young people are among the main beneficiaries of this improvement: their employment rate has increased by 2.6 points over the past year after having already jumped by 3.4 points in 2021. It has now reached nearly 35%, its highest since 1990. Young people benefit in particular from work-study programs and internships which “contribute half of the increase in 2022”, according to INSEE. This trend should continue for a few more years, although at a slower pace. The government is still aiming for the milestone of one million apprenticeship contracts signed before the end of the five-year term. With 837,000 signatures in 2022 (38% more than in 2021), the objective should be easily met.

Contrary to what has sometimes been announced, neither the Covid-19 and the confinements, nor the fall in the unemployment rate have diverted the French from wage labor in favor of careers as an entrepreneur or as a “digital nomad” (a person who does not has no fixed place of work and who travels regularly).

protection and balance

Workers continued to favor this organization, including among the most sought-after profiles, namely executives under 35, indicates the Association for the Employment of Executives (Apec) in a new study published Thursday. Some 65% of this public say they are in fact “very attached to the workforce”. They explain this attachment by “protection, work-life balance, socialization and opportunities for professional development”emphasizes Marion Desreumaux, project manager at the organization’s research department.

The evolution of the balance of power has nevertheless been well integrated by these particularly attractive profiles. Also, these young executives do not hesitate, within their company, to insist on the limits of wage-earning, seen as “too hierarchical, too administrative and too routine”underlines the expert of Apec.



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