Unemployment rose again in November, under effect of containment

The number of unemployed job seekers without any activity increased by 0.9% to reach 3.828 million, according to figures released Monday by the Ministry of Labor.

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The labor market has once again deteriorated under the effect of the reconfinement. In November, the number of job seekers without any activity (category A of the Pôle Emploi) increased by 34,400 (+ 0.9%) to reach just over 3.828 million across the country (in addition to – sea included, except Mayotte), according to data released, Monday, December 28, by Dares, the directorate in charge of studies at the Ministry of Labor. This level is 10% higher than that recorded in February, before the onset of the recession.

After six months of uninterrupted decline, the figures have, unsurprisingly, started to rise again, due to the measures restrictions taken at the end of October in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus. A turn of the screw which penalized the activity within several sectors, with however less significant impacts than during the first confinement, in the spring.

Young people most affected

L The trend noted in November concerns all age groups, but it is more marked among young people: + 2.1%, against + 0.7% in individuals aged 25 to 49 years and + 0, 9% among those aged 50 or over. According to the Dares, two factors played a big role: “the increase in new registrations at Pôle Emploi” and the slowdown in “category A exits” – fewer people who left in November to occupy precarious positions. than during the previous months.

For their part, job seekers who exercise a “reduced activity” (categories B and C) saw their workforce decline by 1.3% in November. In total, the number of people emerging in categories A, B and C remains virtually stable at just over 6 million – a threshold that had never been crossed before the Covid-19 epidemic.

These poor results are in line with the indications provided on December 23 by the Central Agency for Social Security Organizations (Acoss) – which heads the Urssaf network. According to her, the number of declarations of hiring of more than a month (excluding temporary work) fell sharply in November: – 19.8%, after an increase of 2.5% in October (and a decline of 8 , 6% in September).

Recruitments in temporary employment companies are also affected: – 14.5% in November, compared to the same month in 2019, according to statistics released on the 22nd December by Prism’emploi, the employers’ organization in the sector. For the first time since May, “temporary employment, after having slowly recovered, is experiencing a further deterioration, with 110,000 fewer full-time equivalent jobs over one year, against 80,000 job losses over one year [ in October] “, reports Prism’emploi.

/Le Monde Report. View in full here.