Paris (AFP)

Job creations remained in the green in the third quarter, confirming the good health of the labor market and the resistance of the French economy to the European gloom.

From July to September, the private sector registered 54,300 net job creations, an increase of 0.3%, slightly higher than in the second quarter (+45,400), according to provisional figures published by INSEE on Friday. Over one year, this rise reached 1.4%.

Since the beginning of the year, "more than 200,000 jobs were created against 117,000 last year over the same period.This is a real step," said Philippe Waechter, chief economist of Ostrum Asset Management.

"It's a good number," confirms Eric Heyer (OFCE), who compares it with the modest level of growth, also 0.3% in the third quarter.

While the international economic context is deteriorating, especially in the euro area, "we have a robust economy to external shocks," says Waechter. "French companies are not affected in their employment policy by this pessimistic environment.We are in a virtuous dynamic with employment that can feed the economic activity," he said.

However, for Mr. Heyer, "the hidden face of a job creation figure at the same level as growth is that the economy is no longer making productivity gains. and this can eventually pose a problem of competitiveness, "he warns.

In the third quarter, all sectors created jobs, even the industry, which is "in near-recession," says Heyer.

Employment thus increased by 9,900 in construction (+43,400 over one year) and 6,200 in industry (+23,200). But the essential remains supported by market services (+36,300 in the quarter, +182,600 over one year).

- Job-rich growth -

These results corroborate other indicators recently released in the quarter: hiring reports of more than one month in sharp increase (+ 2.3%, according to Acoss, the "bank of the Secu") and the continuation the slow but steady decline in the number of job seekers in category A at Pôle emploi (-0.4%).

And hiring intentions, particularly in permanent contracts, "remain dynamic in the surveys, as if there were a decoupling between growth and employment," notes Heyer.

The two economists remain cautious about the reasons for this "enrichment of growth in jobs": transformation of the CICE into lower charges, reform of the labor market, etc.

Mr. Waechter nevertheless "feels that the job market is changing, that business leaders are hiring faster than before." This could partly explain the decline in temporary work (-0.5% in one quarter, -1.2% in one year).

For Mr. Heyer, these figures come in any case relativize the discourse on "recruitment difficulties" repeated by the employers and the government and advanced in particular to justify the tightening of unemployment benefits.

"Companies have never recruited so much for a given growth," he says. "Or these recruiting difficulties are the consequence of the good health of the labor market, and in this case it is a good sign, that we are in a market that runs with many job offers", judge -t it.

As a result of these job creations, the unemployment rate (ILO) in the third quarter, which will be known on November 14, should slightly decrease compared to the end of June (8.5%).

"But it is more difficult to predict because the unemployment rate also varies according to the evolution of the labor force, which is always complex to anticipate," said Mr. Heyer, citing the consideration of people who are look for a job when the situation improves.

© 2019 AFP