Hiring young people in the neighborhoods: the government strengthens "free jobs" - France 24

Paris (AFP)

The government has extended and strengthened the "free jobs" system aimed at promoting the hiring of unemployed young people from the city's political districts, Labor Minister Élisabeth Borne announced on Thursday.

The aid granted to companies making such a hiring is now increased to 7,000 euros the first year, instead of 5,000 (then 5,000 euros the following two years), specified the minister on France 2. The device, which was to end to December 31 of this year, is also extended for one year.

The decree to this effect was published Thursday in the Official Journal.

If the hiring is done on a fixed-term contract of at least six months, the aid is 5,500 euros the first year, then 2,500 euros the following year.

It is about "equality of opportunity", argued the minister.

"Everyone must be able to find their place in the Republic. I cannot accept that a young person cannot find a job because he does not have the right address or the right codes", she insisted.

"I say to employers: + do not hesitate to employ these young people. + If they do not have the codes, we will give them, if they need to be accompanied, to understand the rules of companies, we will do so. ", explained Ms. Borne.

The free employment scheme is open to any employer, whether or not located in the city's political district (QPV), who hires an unemployed person living in these districts.

Experimented since April 2018 in around ten zones, the measure was generalized in 2020 to all 1,500 priority districts to amplify modest quantitative results.

The ministry expected 40,000 jobs to be created by the end of 2020, but the crisis has reduced the number of hires.

According to the Dares (the statistics service of the ministry), the weekly number of requests for aid accepted by Pôle emploi was divided by nearly four after the first four weeks of confinement, from 700 to less than 200. It was reduced. then stabilized between 200 and 300 per week, before increasing slightly from the end of June (between 250 and 350 per week).

The government has planned for this device in 2021 a budgetary envelope increasing by more than 40% over one year, to 317 million euros instead of 224.

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