• Less affected than other regions by the coronavirus pandemic, Brittany is resisting economically.

  • It thus has the lowest unemployment rate in France.

  • The prospects for hiring are also promising in 2021, especially among executives.

As long as the economic and health crisis is not behind us, we will be careful not to jump for joy. But in this rotten context, it is clear that Brittany is holding up the shock. The region has, it is true, suffered less than others from the coronavirus pandemic. And while many sectors were at a standstill, pillars of its economy such as agri-food, agriculture and digital technology continued to operate last year. As a result, Brittany posted an unemployment rate of 6.5% at the end of 2020, the lowest rate of the French regions. This trend is confirmed in the first quarter with a decline in the number of job seekers in category A (without activity) of 1.1%, against only 0.3% nationally.

"The dynamic is extremely positive for the Breton economy", underlines Frédéric Sévignon, director of Pôle Emploi Bretagne.

He cites as proof the results of the Labor Needs survey (BMO) on the recruitment projects of Breton companies this year.

It identifies 139,060 hiring intentions in the region in 2021, an increase of 5.6% compared to 2019, or before the health crisis.

While many of these jobs are seasonal, such as agriculture or catering, more than 62% are nonetheless sustainable jobs.

A record number of executive recruitments planned

For executives, hiring prospects are also looking good. Last year, 8,160 recruitments had taken place, particularly in the service, industry and IT sectors. Brittany stands out again since it is the only French region to have maintained its level of executive recruitment last year. By way of comparison, the neighboring regions of Pays-de-la-Loire and Normandy have slipped by 13 and 26% respectively.

"In this very specific economic context, Brittany has really pulled out of the game by showing resilience", indicates Olivier Morin, regional delegate of the Association for the employment of executives (Apec).

While activity is picking up again everywhere, the year 2021 promises to be even more promising with hiring forecasts of 8,900 executives.

"This is a historic figure, higher than the pre-crisis level", welcomes Olivier Morin.

Economy

Unemployment remains at a high level in the first quarter of 2021, with 3.8 million job seekers in category A

Employment

In the parking lot because of teleworking, company cars loaned to job seekers in Brittany

  • Covid 19

  • Frame

  • Coronavirus

  • Reindeer

  • Employment

  • Unemployment

  • Economy