France’s youth jobless rate hits 21.6 percent as employment rate slips
France’s unemployment rate on the International Labour Organization definition rose to 8.3 percent of the labour force in the second quarter of 2026, up 0.2 percentage points on the quarter and 0.7 points on the year, the national statistics institute reported on 7 August. That is the highest rate since the third quarter of 2020. Separately the same day, the institute reported hourly wages in the market sector up 2.3 percent year on year and hourly labour cost up 2.4 percent.
The labour market detail is uniformly weaker.
| France, second quarter 2026 | Level | Change on quarter | Change on year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 8.3 percent | plus 0.2 points | plus 0.7 points |
| Unemployed | 2.7 million | plus 62,000 | plus 261,000 |
| Youth unemployment, 15 to 24 | 21.6 percent | plus 0.4 points | plus 2.5 points |
| Long-term unemployment rate | 2.1 percent, 671,000 people | plus 0.1 points | plus 0.4 points |
| Employment rate, 15 to 64 | 69.0 percent | minus 0.3 points | minus 0.5 points |
| Activity rate, 15 to 64 | 75.4 percent | minus 0.1 points | plus 0.2 points |
| Halo around unemployment | 1.865 million, 4.4 percent | stable | — |
The combination in that table is the point. Unemployment rose while the employment rate fell and the activity rate was almost flat, which means the increase in joblessness is not being produced by more people entering the labour market. Youth unemployment at 21.6 percent, up 2.5 points in a year, is rising more than three times as fast as the headline.
Set against longer history the position is less alarming than the quarterly direction suggests. The institute notes the rate is 0.1 points above its level in the fourth quarter of 2019 and remains 2.2 points below its peak in the second quarter of 2015. On the same pre-pandemic comparison youth unemployment is 0.3 points lower, long-term unemployment 0.2 points lower, the employment rate 2.3 points higher and the activity rate 2.7 points higher.
Wages are running just ahead of the unemployment deterioration.
| Labour cost index, second quarter 2026 | Year on year | Previous quarter | Quarter on quarter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly wages | plus 2.3 percent | plus 2.0 percent | plus 0.4 percent |
| Hourly labour cost | plus 2.4 percent | plus 2.3 percent | plus 0.2 percent |
| Industry, wages and cost | plus 2.0 and plus 2.4 percent | — | — |
| Construction, wages and cost | plus 2.3 and plus 1.9 percent | — | — |
| Services, wages and cost | plus 2.3 and plus 2.4 percent | — | — |
The institute says the June 2026 revaluation of the minimum wage, up 2.4 percent, contributed notably amid a resurgence in inflation, together with higher year-on-year value-sharing premium payments. It does not attribute the whole of the acceleration to either factor. These are flash estimates of the labour cost index, an hourly series covering the non-agricultural market sector excluding household services, published about 45 days after the quarter ends and subject to revision when the detailed results appear at around 75 days. They are not the basic monthly wage series, and the two should not be compared directly.
Why it matters: wages accelerating while employment falls is the least comfortable combination for a central bank, because it points to cost pressure that is not being generated by a strong labour market. Our reading is that the minimum wage revaluation the institute points to makes a meaningful part of this a policy-driven step rather than evidence of underlying tightness, and that the labour market signal is the more reliable of the two. The youth figure is the one to watch: 21.6 percent and rising 2.5 points in a year is the fastest deterioration in the release.
Looking ahead: third quarter unemployment is due on 10 November. The detailed labour cost results, which will revise these flash estimates, follow about 75 days after quarter end.
Sources: INSEE, Informations Rapides number 192, unemployment in the second quarter of 2026, 7 August 2026; Informations Rapides number 193, hourly wages and labour cost in the second quarter of 2026, 7 August 2026.
