Unemployment rate in France Q1 2024, by region

During the first quarter of 2024, La Réunion and Guadeloupe, two overseas regions, had the highest unemployment rate among all French regions. Over there the unemployment rate reached 19 and 17.3 percent, respectively, compared to less than six percent in Pays de la Loire. On a national level, France had an annual unemployment rate of 7.32 percent in 2023, which has been declining overall in recent years.

Unemployment: an important issue of the economy of France

France has been struggling with unemployment since the end of the 2000’s and the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. The unemployment rate in the country reached a record level in 2015 when it amounted to nearly 10.4 percent. However, the situation of employment in France has shown signs of recovery since then. Youth unemployment in the country is finally decreasing, in the meantime, long-term unemployment in France has not yet regained its pre-2008 levels, but stood at 1.8 percent in 2023, a decrease of 0.2 points since the previous year. 

Being unemployed in France

Unemployment does not affect the population in the same way. As displayed by this figure, the northern part of France, which used to be a mining center, was more impacted by the phenomenon. Workers, contrary to the more qualified socio-professional categories, were also more affected by unemployment, as well as women who are usually more unemployed than men in France, regardless of their nationality.