The requests for partial unemployment reached this week "a plateau" with 12.4 million employees concerned, estimated Wednesday the Minister of Labor Muriel Pénicaud who now wants to "accompany the decline" with a gradual reduction of coverage by the 'State. According to the Dares (the statistics service of the ministry), a million companies filed on May 11 partial activity requests for 12.4 million employees, or 300,000 more employees in a week, an increase which is slowing down markedly compared to previous weeks.
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A higher figure than reality
"We have reached the plateau," said France 2 Muriel Pénicaud, for whom "it is starting a little bit to feel the recovery". This does not mean that all these employees will be effectively placed on short-time working. The employer first requests a broad authorization for a certain volume of employees, and subsequently a request for compensation for the hours actually worked. For March, only 48% of employees covered by an authorization request have so far been placed in partial activity that month.
La Dares points out that all claims for March have not yet been filed, however, with companies having a year to do so. According to the minister, 400,000 businesses are reopening this week, 50% of construction sites have resumed and the industry is spinning at 60%. "We are on the road to recovery, we must encourage and accelerate it," she said.
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A drop in the system from June
In order to "encourage the system to start again, she confirmed that by" the end of the week "the government would decide to" gradually evolve "the short-time working scheme from June by" lowering it a bit " the share of reimbursement to companies. Private employees who are partially unemployed by their company currently benefit from a guarantee of 84% of net salary (100% at the minimum wage), which the State and unemployment insurance reimburse in full. employers up to 4.5 Smic.
According to economists, this full reimbursement to employers could slow down the recovery by encouraging them not to resume their activity until it is deemed profitable enough.