In 2010, unemployment rate in France reached a record level of 10.4 percent. Unemployment remains a rampant issue for French economy, being stagnant year-over-year since the financial and economical crisis in 2008. During the first quarter of 2018, more than 1.4 million people aged between 25 and 49 years were unemployed in France.

Change in unemployment since 2008

In 2008, year of the financial crisis, unemployment rate in France reached its lowest level since 2004. That year, France had an unemployment rate of 7.4 percent while, one year before it had reached 8 eight percent. Unemployment is an important economic factor for a country and a measure of a region’s economic health. Despite its low level in 2008, unemployment rate in France increased steadily between 2009 and 2016. In 2015, it even reached its highest level since the mid-2000s with a percentage of unemployed people among the French population which was of 10.4 percent. That year, unemployed people represented 11.5 percent of the urban population in France. However, French unemployment rate seemed to be experiencing improvements in recent years. In 2017, long-term employment rate decreased after several years of constant growth.

Unemployment in France and the EU

European markets were particularly affected by the 2008 global financial crisis and the recession which followed. Nevertheless, Unemployment rate in the EU reached 6.5 percent in January 2019, compared to 7.2 percent one year before and the number of unemployed persons in the European Union and the Euro area is declining since 2018. This improvement seems to be affecting France to a lesser extent. France was one of the EU members with the highest unemployment rate in 2019, and youth unemployment still reaches a record number in the country.

This statistic presents the long-term unemployment in France, from the first quarter of 2017 to the third quarter of 2025, by age. It reveals that in Q3 2025, *** percent of the population aged between 25 and 49 years was unemployed for at least one year.

France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Chalons-en-Champagne data was reported at 7.300 % in Dec 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.000 % for Sep 2017. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Chalons-en-Champagne data is updated quarterly, averaging 7.400 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.400 % in Sep 2013 and a record low of 5.800 % in Mar 2008. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Chalons-en-Champagne data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G027: Unemployment: by Region and Zone.

This statistic presents the rate of long-term unemployment, in France, from the first quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2025, by gender. It reveals that *** percent of French women were unemployed for at least one year in Q2 2025.

France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Brive-la-Gaillarde data was reported at 7.800 % in Dec 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.500 % for Sep 2017. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Brive-la-Gaillarde data is updated quarterly, averaging 7.250 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.300 % in Jun 2013 and a record low of 5.200 % in Mar 2008. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Brive-la-Gaillarde data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G027: Unemployment: by Region and Zone.

France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Ceret data was reported at 14.700 % in Dec 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 15.100 % for Sep 2017. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Ceret data is updated quarterly, averaging 12.600 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16.400 % in Jun 2015 and a record low of 10.000 % in Mar 2008. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Ceret data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G027: Unemployment: by Region and Zone.

This statistic shows the unemployment rate in France from 1991 to 2024. In 2024, the unemployment rate in France was around 7.37 percent. Population of France A member of the G7 and G20, France is one of the world's most powerful, advanced and emerging economies. With a total population of around 65 million people, France’s economy must adapt itself to employ the growing population. Although the rates of population growth in the past five years have declined in comparison to the population growth rates between 2003 and 2007, there is still an overall growth in the total population. An important factor that directly affects the French economy is the percentage increase in people who are 65 years of age or older and the percentage decline of people between the ages of 15 and 64 years. Because the percentage of the working population is decreasing, mainly people between the ages of 15 and 64 years, and the median age of the population in France is increasing, the economy must adapt to the growing competition by providing more employment opportunities. With the Eurozone crisis and global financial crisis of 2008, the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in France suffered dramatic drops between 2008 and 2009 in comparison to the previous year. Despite having increased between 2009 and 2013, employment in France has not reached the record high of 2008 again yet. In addition, the unemployment rates in the last decade have increased by almost two percent.

France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Vierzon data was reported at 12.200 % in Dec 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 13.200 % for Sep 2017. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Vierzon data is updated quarterly, averaging 11.400 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.800 % in Mar 2016 and a record low of 7.900 % in Mar 2008. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Vierzon data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G027: Unemployment: by Region and Zone.

France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Bayeux data was reported at 7.400 % in Dec 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.100 % for Sep 2017. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Bayeux data is updated quarterly, averaging 8.050 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.400 % in Jun 2015 and a record low of 6.100 % in Mar 2008. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Bayeux data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G027: Unemployment: by Region and Zone.

This graph shows the number of people looking for a job in France between the first quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2025, by age. Among all job seekers in France, about ******* were older than 50 years old during the first quarter of 2025.

In 2020 the unemployment rate of the city of Lyon was ** percent. This number has been fluctuating since 2008, reaching a peak in 2012 when unemployment was **** percent, the highest level for the given period of time. But decreasing right after that in 2013, when only **** percent of the active population was unemployed. A second but slightly less important spike can be observed in 2017 when the unemployment rate was around **** percent.

France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Belfort-Montbeliard-Hericourt data was reported at 9.000 % in Dec 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9.900 % for Sep 2017. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Belfort-Montbeliard-Hericourt data is updated quarterly, averaging 10.600 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12.600 % in Dec 2014 and a record low of 7.900 % in Mar 2003. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Belfort-Montbeliard-Hericourt data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G027: Unemployment: by Region and Zone.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in member states of the European Union in July 2025. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Spain in July 2025 was 10.4 percent. The unemployment rate represents the share of the unemployed in all potential employees available to the job market. Unemployment rates in the EU The unemployment rate is an important measure of a country or region’s economic health, and despite unemployment levels in the European Union falling slightly from a peak in early 2013 , they remain high, especially in comparison to what the rates were before the worldwide recession started in 2008. This confirms the continuing stagnation in European markets, which hits young jobseekers particularly hard as they struggle to compete against older, more experienced workers for a job, suffering under jobless rates twice as high as general unemployment. Some companies, such as Microsoft and Fujitsu, have created thousands of jobs in some of the countries which have particularly dire unemployment rates, creating a beacon of hope. However, some industries such as information technology, face the conundrum of a deficit of qualified workers in the local unemployed work force, and have to hire workers from abroad instead of helping decrease the local unemployment rates. This skills mismatch has no quick solution, as workers require time for retraining to fill the openings in the growing science-, technology-, or engineering-based jobs, and too few students choose degrees that would help them obtain these positions. Worldwide unemployment also remains high, with the rates being worst in the Middle East and North Africa. Estimates by the International Labour Organization predict that the problem will stabilize in coming years, but not improve until at least 2017.

Despite the COVID-19 crisis and the confinement of the French population between March 17 and May 11, 2020, the number of new registrants at the French Employment Agency in the second quarter of 2020 decreased compared to the first quarter of 2020. In the second quarter of 2025, the number of new registrants stood at 686,200.

France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Briancon data was reported at 8.200 % in Dec 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.500 % for Sep 2017. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Briancon data is updated quarterly, averaging 7.800 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.200 % in Dec 2015 and a record low of 6.300 % in Dec 2008. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Briancon data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G027: Unemployment: by Region and Zone.

France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Chaumont-Langres data was reported at 6.400 % in Dec 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.600 % for Sep 2017. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Chaumont-Langres data is updated quarterly, averaging 7.100 % from Mar 2003 to Dec 2017, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.100 % in Jun 2009 and a record low of 5.300 % in Mar 2008. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Chaumont-Langres data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G027: Unemployment: by Region and Zone.

France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Chablais data was reported at 6.800 % in Dec 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7.500 % for Sep 2017. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Chablais data is updated quarterly, averaging 7.500 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.500 % in Jun 2015 and a record low of 5.500 % in Mar 2008. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Chablais data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G027: Unemployment: by Region and Zone.

The statistic shows the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate in EU member states as of July 2025. The source defines youth unemployment as unemployment of those younger than 25 years. In July 2025, the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate in Spain was at 26.6 percent. Youth unemployment rate in EU member states Unemployment is a crucial economic factor for a country; youth unemployment is often examined separately because it tends to be higher than unemployment in older age groups. It comprises the unemployment figures of a country’s labor force aged 15 to 24 years old (i.e. the earliest point at which mandatory school education ends). Typically, teenagers and those in their twenties who are fresh out of education do not find jobs right away, especially if the country’s economy is experiencing difficulties, as can be seen above. Additionally, it also tends to be higher in emerging markets than in industrialized nations. Worldwide, youth unemployment figures have not changed significantly over the last decade, nor are they expected to improve in the next few years. Youth unemployment is most prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa, even though these regions report high unemployment figures regardless (Zimbabwe and Turkmenistan are among the countries with the highest unemployment rates in the world, for example), and are also highly populated areas with a rather weak infrastructure, compared to industrialized regions. In the European Union and the euro area, unemployment in general has been on the rise since 2008, which is due to the economic crisis which caused bankruptcy and financial trouble for many employers, and thus led to considerable job loss, less job offerings, and consequently, to a rise of the unemployment rate. Older workers are struggling to find new jobs despite their experience, and young graduates are struggling to find new jobs, because they have none. All in all, the number of unemployed persons worldwide is projected to rise, this is not down to the economic crisis alone, but also the industrial automation of processes previously performed by workers, as well as rising population figures.

France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Bayonne data was reported at 8.100 % in Mar 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 7.800 % for Dec 2017. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Bayonne data is updated quarterly, averaging 8.000 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 61 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.300 % in Jun 2013 and a record low of 6.200 % in Mar 2008. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Bayonne data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G026: Unemployment: by Region and Zone.

France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Arles data was reported at 12.600 % in Mar 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 12.400 % for Dec 2017. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Arles data is updated quarterly, averaging 12.900 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 61 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15.100 % in Jun 2013 and a record low of 10.200 % in Jun 2008. France Unemployment Rate: Zone: sa: Arles data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G026: Unemployment: by Region and Zone.