2019 was a good year for job creation, which accelerated at the end of the year to reach 260,000. In the midst of a conflict over pension reform, the last quarter of the year saw 88,800 jobs created, more than double compared to the third quarter. Over the year as a whole, the private sector created 263,100 jobs (+ 1.4%), almost 100,000 more jobs than in 2018, but 90,000 less than in 2017.
For Bruno Ducoudré, economist at the OFCE, the 2019 vintage is "stronger than what we expected" in view of the growth observed in France. According to him, the explanation is found in the new system of contribution reductions on low wages from which companies benefited in 2019. As always it is the market services which drive private employment, with more than 200,000 net creations of positions in 2019. The construction sector recorded "its strongest annual increase since 2007", notes INSEE, with 45,000 creations (+ 3.3%).
Partial unemployment has already doubled
These figures fall while everyone's eyes are on the Covid-19 epidemic which is hitting the world economy hard. The impact of the coronavirus "will be severe on French growth in 2020" and will also affect employment, warned Monday the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire. For its part, the Banque de France estimated that this growth would reach only 0.1% in the first quarter, against 0.3% expected a month ago.
The government deployed a whole arsenal at the beginning of the week, including the reinforcement of partial unemployment: the State will thus raise from 7.74 euros to 8.04 euros, or the level of the minimum wage, the compensatory hourly allowance paid to employers using this device. Some 900 companies have applied for partial unemployment measures for around 15,000 workers, according to Minister of Labor Muriel Pénicaud. She also made no secret of the fact that the objective of an unemployment rate of 7% at the end of the five-year period was "more difficult" to achieve.
The CFDT also stepped up to the plate
"We expect this to start soon enough, companies can absorb the shock" if the slowdown in activity lasts one or two quarters, in particular due to State aid (partial activity, deficiency, daily allowances) but also at the cost of non-renewal of short or temporary contracts, judge Bruno Ducoudré.
This is what worries the CFDT, which asked the government to abandon the second part of the unemployment insurance reform, which is to come into force on April 1 and changes the calculation of unemployment compensation, in particular for those who chain short contracts. "Measures are announced to support businesses and sectors in difficulty" because of the coronavirus, "what about job seekers and precarious workers? ", Questions the first French union, strongly opposed to this reform.
- Employment
- Precarite
- Economy
- Coronavirus
- Unemployment