France’s Unemployment Hits Six-Year High as Jobless Total Reaches 2.7 Million.

France’s unemployment rate climbed to 8.3 percent in the second quarter of 2026, reaching its highest level in nearly six years, according to figures released by the country’s national statistics agency, Insee.

The unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points from the first quarter, bringing the number of unemployed people to approximately 2.7 million, an increase of 62,000 over the quarter.

The latest rate is the highest recorded since autumn 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Excluding that exceptional period, unemployment is at its highest level since the third quarter of 2019.

Young People Most Affected

Young workers continue to face the most difficult conditions in France’s labour market.

Unemployment among people aged 15 to 24 rose by 0.4 percentage points to 21.6 percent. For those aged 25 to 49, the rate increased to 7.5 percent, its highest level since early 2021.

Among workers aged 50 and above, unemployment reached 5.5 percent, the highest level since the first quarter of 2022.

Insee also noted that changes linked to France’s Full Employment Law, which came into force in January 2025, have contributed to the increase in the number of people officially classified as unemployed. Recipients of the minimum-income benefit and young people aged 15 to 29 account for nearly half of the rise recorded since the reform.

Millions Still Outside Official Unemployment Figures

In addition to the 2.7 million officially unemployed, around 1.9 million people said they wanted to work but were not classified as unemployed because they were either not actively seeking employment or were unavailable to start work immediately.

Insee refers to this group as the “halo around unemployment.”

Despite the rise in unemployment, Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou said the French labour market remained resilient despite the country’s challenging economic environment.

The latest figures also incorporate Mayotte into France’s unemployment statistics, with adjustments made to earlier data to allow meaningful comparisons over time.

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