French unemployment rises to highest level in nearly six years

France's unemployment rate climbed to 8.3% in the second quarter of 2026, its highest level in nearly six years, as the number of unemployed people rose to 2.7 million, according to the national statistics agency Insee.

Figures showed the unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points from the first quarter, reaching its highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic in autumn 2020, Caliber.Az reports, citing French media.

Excluding that exceptional period, it is the highest rate recorded since the third quarter of 2019.

The number of unemployed people, based on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition, rose by 62,000 during the quarter to 2.7 million. Despite the increase, the unemployment rate remains 2.2 percentage points below its mid-2015 peak, Insee said.

The latest data includes Mayotte, France's overseas department in the Indian Ocean, with previous figures adjusted to ensure comparability over time. Insee made it clear that the inclusion had only a limited impact on the overall results.

Unemployment increased across all age groups, with young people continuing to face the greatest challenges. The unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 24 rose by 0.4 percentage points to 21.6%. Among people aged 25 to 49, it climbed to 7.5% — the highest level since early 2021 — while unemployment among those aged 50 and over reached 5.5%, its highest level since the first quarter of 2022.

Insee also linked part of the increase to the Full Employment Law, which took effect in January 2025.

Recipients of the RSA minimum-income benefit and people aged 15 to 29 accounted for nearly half of the rise in unemployment since the reform was introduced.

Beyond those officially classified as unemployed, another 1.9 million people said they wanted to work but were not counted as unemployed because they were either not actively seeking a job or were unavailable to start work immediately. Insee refers to this group as the "halo around unemployment." The number increased by just 6,000 during the quarter, representing 4.4% of people aged 15 to 64.

Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou sought to put the figures into perspective.

"Despite a difficult economic environment, the French labour market remains resilient," he remarked.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov