French Private Salaried Employment Falls by 0.2% in Q4 2024

In Q4 of 2024, salaried employment in the French private sector decreased by 0.2%, representing a loss of 50,100 jobs. This marks a reversal from the previous quarter’s near stability, where employment grew by 0.1% (+27,000 jobs). Overall, private salaried employment remained unchanged compared to the same period in 2023, with a slight reduction of just 1,000 jobs. However, the current level of employment is still significantly higher than pre-pandemic figures, exceeding the end of 2019 by 5.6%, or 1.1 million jobs.

Temporary employment continued its decline in Q4 2024, dropping by 1.9%, a steeper fall than the 0.9% decrease observed in the prior quarter. This resulted in 14,000 fewer temporary jobs, marking a 5.6% decline from December 2023 and a 7.8% drop compared to the pre-crisis period.

French Private Salaried Employment Falls by 0.2% in Q4 2024

Excluding temporary positions, other sectors showed mixed results. Agricultural wage employment fell by 0.8% (-2,400 jobs) after a strong gain in Q3. In contrast, industrial wage employment remained nearly stable, dipping by just 0.1% (-3,200 jobs), continuing a trend of modest growth from the previous year (+0.2% or +7,500 jobs) and pre-crisis levels (+2.4% or +76,500 jobs).

The construction sector, however, experienced continued losses, with employment down by 0.5% (-7,800 jobs) in Q4, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of decline. Despite these losses, construction employment remains above 2019 levels, up by 4.8% (+70,300 jobs).

In the merchant tertiary sector, excluding temporary employment, salaried positions fell by 0.2%, a decline not seen since 2013, driven by a loss of 22,600 jobs. While this sector exceeded 2023 levels by 0.3% (+35,600 jobs), it remained significantly higher than pre-crisis figures, with an increase of 7.5% (+870,100 jobs).

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