France: with the reform of unemployment insurance, the executive hopes for a significant return to employment
With the unemployment insurance reform, the rights of the unemployed will only be fully restored if the unemployment rate exceeds 9% in France or if its quarterly evolution exceeds 0.8%.
(Illustrative image) REUTERS / Eric Gaillard
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
The government unveiled this Monday morning to the social partners its decisions on its new reform of unemployment insurance: the duration of compensation for jobseekers will be reduced by a quarter to "encourage" recipients of unemployment benefit to find a job.
The amount of compensation does not change, but its duration will change depending on the labor market situation.
Advertising
Read more
In concrete terms, the government bases itself on the criterion of an unemployment rate of 9% (according to the standards of the International Labor Office) to vary the duration of compensation.
This will be reduced by 25% for future unemployed people opening rights from February 1, 2023. These rights for the unemployed will only be fully restored if the unemployment rate exceeds 9% in France or if its quarterly evolution exceeds 0.8 %.
The Minister of Labor hopes for “
100,000 to 150,000
additional returns to work” in 2023 thanks to the reform and ensures that France keeps one of the most generous systems in Europe.
Our objective is to bring these periods of strong return to employment closer together and the elements we have lead us to hope for between 100 and 150,000 returns to employment by 2023.
Olivier Dussopt, Minister of Labour, Full Employment and Integration.
The executive, which justifies its reform by the difficulties of recruiting companies, hopes that thanks to these modifications, full employment will be reached in 2027, i.e. an unemployment rate of around 5% while the current rate is 7.3 %.
A reform that will only reinforce poverty in France
The employers' organizations received this Monday morning at the Ministry of Labor were rather favorable to the reform, while the other unions, them, qualify it as unacceptable.
To compensate the unemployed for less time to encourage them to find work, the government's logic is shared by Éric Chevée of the confederation of small and medium-sized enterprises (CPME), which is struggling to recruit in trades under pressure.
“
There are still more than half of the companies looking for employees in a labor market which remains at nearly six million registered at the employment center.
The provisions that have been announced usefully complete, in our opinion, the unemployment insurance system.
»
But for Denis Gravouil of the CGT, the reform will only reinforce poverty.
Example with an unemployed person today receiving benefits for two years, who on February 1, 2023 will see his duration reduced by six months: “
We can clearly see that this government has only one priority: to hit the workers, force them to accept precarious jobs because that is one of the objectives of the reform and saving money is a measure that is totally favorable to employers.
»
The CGT as Force Ouvrière is also worried about unemployed seniors who, too, will see their compensation period reduced from 36 to 27 months.
“
When you are over 55, no one hires you anymore,”
says Michel Beaugas, Confederal Secretary Force Ouvrière
.
And so you turn into a long-term unemployed person and tomorrow it will mean poor elderly unemployed people and that is scandalous.
Force Ouvrière has already announced that it will challenge the decree on the reform of unemployment insurance as soon as it is published.
►
To read also: France: the reform of unemployment insurance continues to divide in the workplace
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
France
Employment and Labor
Company
French politics