Unemployment in France

The France knows a fort Unemployment rate since the years 1980, although the figures of unemployment started to increase as of the years 1960. Although unemployment existed before, its low level by not making an important component of the societal debates.

With the Oil crises of the years 1970, which coincided with the end of the economic correction with respect to the the United States (period of the Glorious Thirty), unemployment remains with an elevated level until the middle of the years 2000 - around 10 % - while a majority of the others developed Pays manages to return on levels close to the Plein-emploi.

Measured within the meaning of the the ILO and according to the interpretation of Eurostat, unemployment rate amounts to 8.1% at the second quarters 2007 in Metropolitan France (: 2400000 unemployed), and to 8.4% if the Overseas departments are included.

Definition of unemployment in France

See also: Amorce=Pour a detailed vision of the definitions, to see, Chômage#Définitions of unemployment, Definitions of unemployment

The classification of an individual as unemployed varies according to the definitions used for the fact of being with unemployment. An unemployed is generally an individual who belongs to the Active population, which does not have a Emploi, and which seeks one of them actively.

This definition, which is that of the the ILO, is rather fuzzy, and prone to variations in its interpretation. In November 2007, INSEE made evolve/move its methodology to stick to interpretation Eurostat:

* without employment (not to have worked, even an hour, during one week of reference);

* with research activates of an employment;

* available in the fifteen days.

Is a “applicant for work”, an unemployed who, in France, is registered with the National agency for employment (ANPE).

Categories of applicant for work

Eight categories of applicants for work exist in France

Catégorie 1: people without employment, immediately available, held to achieve positive acts of looking for a job, in the search of an employment at unlimited duration full-time. These people should not have carried on activity occasional or reduced of more than 78 hours in the month of actualization.
Category 2: people without employment, immediately available, held to achieve positive acts of looking for a job, in the search of an employment at part-time unlimited duration. These people should not have carried on activity occasional or reduced of more than 78 hours in the month of actualization.
Category 3: people without employment, immediately available, held to achieve positive acts of looking for a job, in the search of an employment at limited duration, temporary or seasonal, including very short duration. These people should not have carried on activity occasional or reduced of more than 78 hours in the month of actualization.
Category 4: people without employment, not immediately available, in the search of an employment (trainees, people in formations,…).
Category 5: people equipped with an employment, in the search of another employment.
Category 6: people not immediately available, in the search of another employment, unlimited duration full-time, held to achieve positive acts of looking for a job. These people carried on an activity occasional or reduced of more than 78 hours in the month of actualization.
Category 7: people not immediately available in the search of another employment, part-time unlimited duration, held to achieve positive acts of looking for a job. These people carried on an activity occasional or reduced of more than 78 hours in the month of actualization.
Category 8: people not immediately available in the search of another employment, at limited duration, temporary or seasonal, including very short duration, held to achieve positive acts of looking for a job. These people carried on an activity occasional or reduced of more than 78 hours in the month of actualization.

Statistics of unemployment

The estimates of INSEE, which will be registered in the social accounting and will refer, are based on an investigation employment, which is rebasée each year.

Discusses on the evolution of unemployment rate in 2007

In 2007, the Statistiques concerning unemployment in France were the subject of debates, following a difference more important than usually between two information sources: statistics of ANPE and that of the investigation use of INSEE. INSEE envisaged to lead a reappraisal of the investigation employment from here to the end of the 2007 principal other organizations of measurement (Eurostat, the private banking, certain collectives) do not dispute the fall of unemployment since 2005. Only the width of this fall is not estimated with precision, varying from 1 to 2 points in 2006 and 2007, on the basis of 10% of the years 2004 and 2005.

A study of IGF in September 2007 summarized the reasons of the divergences between the two information sources and listed the ways of improvement.

Regional disparities

The measurement of unemployment at the regional level reveals strong disparities. In 2005, the three areas of the European Union which have unemployment more raised are the Réunion, the Guadeloupe and the Guyana (respectively 30,1% 25,9% and 24,8%). The regional rate lowest in France was 6,4% (the Limousin).

The taking into account of the Overseas departments in the calculation of the unemployment rate of France makes pass the rate of 8.1% (Metropolitan France) to 8.4%.

Unemployment and input-output of employment

The level of unemployment in France compared to the other countries

Unemployment rate in France is appreciably higher than in the adjoining countries. In 2006, even Italy and Spain have an unemployment rate lower than the French rate, whereas the reverse was generally true since the years 1970.

The too high level of SMIC is seen like one of the main causes of the unemployment raised in France. It prevents job creation for the least qualified people, whose productivity is lower than the cost for the employer. In addition, it would not make it possible to fight against the Pauvreté in France, since by destroying employment it leads to increase the number of unemployed and RMIstes.

Governmental measures against unemployment

Various forms of action

With the slight rise of the number of unemployed to the beginning of the year 1970, the State intervened, directly (itself) or indirectly (via other agents, in particular the Territorial collectivities) in an increasing way “against unemployment”. The target of the action like the means were very diverse: general activity or for a subpopulation considered as particularly touched (“young people”, seniors, not-graduates, unemployed of long life, etc), measurements based on all kinds of sometimes contradictory ideas:

to prohibit or at least make difficult the dismissals, by lawful measurements (administrative authorizations of dismissal); more generally, to increase the administrative or legal interventions in the hope to increase the control of the phenomenon;
conversely, to make the dismissals less complex, to reduce the legal uncertainty - which lasts sometimes several years - to encourage job creation, or more generally to reduce the administrative or legal interventions in the hope to reduce the constraints weighing on job creation. (cf for example CNE);
to reduce the wastings of public means (proposal of the program of election campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy: “single contract”, ANPE-Unedic fusion to form a Public service of single employment as in the other countries);
to encourage the recruitings, by subsidizing (or, which returns financially to same, by exonerating certain contributions) employers (helped Emplois); there still, population of employers aimed being very diverse (companies, private individuals in residence, public administrations and territorial collectivities, the " sector associatif" , etc), the adopted measures are it also;
to carry out a “division of work”, in particular by the policy of the anticipated retirements (supposed to transfer from the uses of old towards the young people), the penalization of the Overtime, and the passage of the legal duration with 35 hours. These measurements appeared against-productive;
to engage of the “Political revival”, with rise of the wages via SMIC supposed to stimulate the production and thus the application for a job; there still, this method appeared ineffective;
to engage of the policies of “restoration of the Compétitivité”, with a gel of certain wages, time that the Competitiveness-price with respect to the other countries is restored. This courageous policy was a relative success when it was carried out during second half of the Années 1980.
to act on creations of company, in particular by unemployed; to support the installation of foreign companies
to act on the disappearance of companies;
to give trainings presumedly given to unemployed the possibility of exerting trades where there exist shortages;
reduction or cancellation of the National insurance contributions on the low wages, which, in the presence of a too high SMIC, carried the Labor costs on a level too much high and played like a brake at the time of recruitment of the least productive workers.

In addition, the successive governments carried out a “social treatment” of unemployment:

to soften the condition of the unemployed, by various social measures, to return the situation of more bearable unemployed (premium of Christmas, reduction of the costs of entry in the museums and sports equipment,…)

History

The National agency for Employment (ANPE) is created in 1967

August 1st

The Employment-youths are set up under the Gouvernement Jospin, as well as the reduction ridige of the Duration of the work to 35 hours; the Assistance with the creation or the resumption of company (ACRE), the support brought by the Governments Raffarin and Villepin with the “Services to the person” (economy domesticates), in particular via the Plan Borloo having created the accounts - checks employment universal service, of the reforms of the work contract (attempts at Dominique de Villepin to found CPE after CNE,…). The Prime for employment also aims at reducing unemployment.

Since the years 2000, the governments support the return to the employment of the voluntary unemployed by increasing the profits of work: Premium for employment (EPP), Revenu from solidarity activates (RSA).

The left and the right-hand side diverge partly in their answers brought to unemployment: the line in general prefers to support the offers (in particular by an increase in the Flexibilité, which would make it possible the Entreprises to engage more), while the left usually prefers the policies of the request, and the Réduction of the working time (in the idea to share a hypothetical fixed quantity of work within the company), or the support for certain categories known as precarious. However, this general idea has many exceptions, government of an edge proposing and implementing sometimes policies that other would be awaited.

None the right governments or left which followed one another set up an Employment Policy truly liberal; these policies however allowed the alleviation of unemployment in the others developed Pays. Spain thus passed in a few years of a rate close to 20 % ata rate of approximately 7 %.

For 2008, the State with envisaged to devote more than 12 billion euros and to mobilize more than 10.000 people to the Employment Policies; by adding the sums managed by ANPE, UNEDIC, the territorial collectivities, etc France devoted in 1996 (and that does not have to drop since) more than 4% of its GDP (that is to say more than 60 billion euros) to fight “against unemployment”, for more half in passive expenditure (Allocations unemployment for example) and the remainder in active measurements (professional training for example).

The money mass devoted to the problem still appears thus so colossal, in particular when one reports it to the number of unemployed or, worse, with the number of subsidized employment, and the results so mitigated, that criticisms are sharp, on the left like on the right, but different: to the risk to caricature, one can say that (while limiting itself to the financial question)

on the left one will require that cease the assistances of the companies and other exemptions, and that one devotes the money to public employment;
on the right, one will propose to cut in the welfare expenditures to reduce the taxes and social security deduction, to support the commercial sector, and thus the recruitings.

References

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