2026.01.3008:16:35UTC+00France Private Payroll Employment Falls 0.1% in Q4

In the fourth quarter of 2025, private sector employment in France saw a slight decline of 0.1%, translating to a reduction of 28,700 jobs, bringing the total to 21.0 million jobs, as indicated by preliminary figures. This followed a similar 0.1% drop in the third quarter. Temporary employment displayed marginal stability, inching up by 0.1% (an addition of 800 jobs) after experiencing a decline of 0.6% (a loss of 4,300 jobs) in the previous period. Excluding temporary positions, job reductions were noted across various sectors, with industry losing 3,200 positions, construction shedding 3,100 jobs, commercial services declining by 18,500 positions, and non-market services seeing a reduction of 12,000 jobs. Year-on-year, private sector employment fell by 0.2%, amounting to a loss of 40,800 jobs. This represents the fifth consecutive quarter of decline following nearly four years of growth. Nonetheless, employment levels remain considerably higher than they were before the pandemic, specifically at the end of 2019, with a notable increase of 5.3%, equivalent to 1.1 million jobs.