Drop in hiring, business failures… why the number of unemployed increased sharply in the last quarter of 2024 ?

During the last quarter of 2024, the number of unemployed people increased in France: + 3.9%.

The number of job seekers registered with France Travail increased by 3.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024compared to the third quarter, the largest rise in unemployment in France (excluding Mayotte) in a decade outside the Covid crisis, according to figures published Monday by the Ministry of Labor.

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117,000 more people

Among young people under 25, the increase reached 8.5% over the quarter in metropolitan France, specifies the ministry's research department (Dares), against a backdrop of a drop in hiring and an increase in business bankruptcies.

The number of category A unemployed (without any activity) thus reached 3.138 million in the 4th quarter, or 117,000 more unemployed over a quarter.

Over one year, the number of job seekers increased by 3.5%, with the variations in previous quarters having been much less significant.

Including those with reduced activity (Categories A, B and C), the number of job seekers increased by 1.7% to 5.495 million over the quarter, and by 1.8% over one year, still for the whole of France excluding Mayotte.

These figures are “consistent with those of bankruptcies and social plans”, economist Nathalie Chusseau reacted to AFP.

Last week, Urssaf had reported that hiring declarations had started to decline again in the fourth quarter, losing 2.4% compared to the previous quarter.