Paris (AFP)

France created more jobs in 2019 than the previous year (+ 1.4%) but without reaching the level of 2017, according to final figures published Tuesday by INSEE, which estimated 263,100 the number of creations net of jobs in the private sector.

In the last quarter of the year, net job creation increased by 0.5% to 88,800 jobs, after +39,900 the previous quarter, to reach 19.74 million jobs in the private sector in France.

In 2018, France had registered 161,900 net creations in the private sector after 353,100 in 2017, according to INSEE.

The provisional estimate given at the beginning of February by INSEE was well below for private salaried employment in the fourth quarter (40,700) and was greatly revised in particular in market services. It is still this sector that drives job creation in France with 201,000 net job creations in 2019, a figure higher than in 2018.

Temporary work, often considered as a leading indicator of the employment situation, fell slightly to -2,700 jobs (-0.3%) over the whole year and -1,900 (-0 , 2%) over the last quarter.

Construction recorded "its highest annual increase since 2007", notes INSEE, with 45,000 job creations, an increase of 3.3%. The industry sector grew very moderately over one year (+10,700, + 0.3%).

In total, private and public employee job creation stood at 287,600 (+ 1.1%), including 24,400 job creation in the public sector, and 90,800 in the 4th quarter (+ 0.4%) in the private sector and the public.

© 2020 AFP