France's Jobless Rate Dips to 8.2% but Workers Over 50 Hit Their Highest Rate Since 2022

France's unemployment rate eased to 8.2% of the labour force in the third quarter of 2026, with 47,000 fewer unemployed people than in the previous quarter. The small quarterly fall reached every age group except people aged 50 and over, whose rate was almost stable, up 0.1 point, at 5.6%, its highest level since the first quarter of 2022. The national rate is also 0.4 point above its level of the third quarter of 2025, so the yearly comparison is still worse. For Metaintro readers in France, especially those in their fifties and sixties, this guide sets out what the new figures show for older workers' employment and unemployment rates, how long benefits last after 55, and how the senior experience contract works.

What Did INSEE Report for the Third Quarter of 2026?

INSEE, the French national statistics institute, published its third-quarter labour market figures on 10 November 2026 as Informations Rapides no. 270. The number of people unemployed under the International Labour Organization definition came to 2.6 million people.

INSEE estimates the rate to within plus or minus 0.3 point on both the level and the change from one quarter to the next.

The yearly picture is weaker, with 150,000 more unemployed people than in the third quarter of 2025. The rate remains well below its mid-2015 peak, by 2.3 points. The second quarter's rate was 8.3%, so the third quarter marks a slight respite after six consecutive quarters of increases.

The survey covers France, people aged 15 or over living in ordinary housing, and the next release, for the fourth quarter of 2026, is scheduled for 16 February 2027 at 7h30.

Are Workers Over 50 Really the Only Group Where Unemployment Rose?

Among the three age bands INSEE publishes, yes, but only on the quarter and only by a small margin. The rate fell 0.5 point to 21.0% for 15 to 24 year olds and 0.2 point to 7.3% for 25 to 49 year olds. For people aged 50 or over the rate was almost stable, the only band that moved up.

The rate for women fell 0.3 point to 7.8%, while the rate for men rose very slightly, by 0.1 point to 8.6%. Inside the older band, men's rate went from 5.9% to 6.1%, while women aged 50 or over saw theirs go from 5.1% to 5.0%.

Over a full year, older workers are not alone at all, since compared with a year earlier the unemployment rate rises for all age groups, and the jump is largest for the young. Over the year the rate is stable for women, while it rises by 0.8 point for men.

Some 567,000 people aged 50 or over were unemployed in the third quarter, against 713,000 aged 15 to 24 and 1.35 million aged 25 to 49.

Over one year, the unemployment rate rises for all age groups, by 1.6 points among 15 to 24 year olds, 0.2 point among 25 to 49 year olds and 0.5 point among those aged 50 or over (translated), according to the INSEE third-quarter release.

Are More Over 50s Working Even as Their Unemployment Rate Rises?

The employment rate for 50 to 64 year olds rose slightly, by 0.2 point to 69.3%, matching its highest level since INSEE began measuring it in 1975.

For 50 to 64 year olds the activity rate rose again, by 0.2 point, to 73.4%, a new high since INSEE began measuring it in 1975. For 55 to 64 year olds the activity rate was stable at 65.9%, 0.7 point above the third quarter of 2025 and 6.7 points above the end of 2019.

The employment rate for 55 to 64 year olds slipped from 62.1% to 62.0% over the quarter while their activity rate held steady.

The share of the population in the so-called halo around unemployment, people who want a job but are not searching or not available, is stable for 50 to 64 year olds at 2.7%, against 7.4% for 15 to 24 year olds.

How Many French Jobseekers Have Been Searching for at Least a Year?

Some 680,000 people say they have been without work and looking for at least a year, 7,000 more than in the previous quarter and 82,000 more than a year ago. The long-term unemployment rate is stable at 2.1%, remaining at its highest level since the second quarter of 2022.

People in work are also getting fewer hours than they want, as 4.6% of employed people are underemployed, up 0.2 point over the quarter as well as over the year. Counting the unemployed, the halo and the underemployed together, 17.2% of labour market participants are constrained in how much they can work.

Behind the headline, private salaried employment fell 0.1% for the seventh quarter in a row, a loss of 25,800 jobs on the quarter and 69,800 over a year, with industry losing 17,700 jobs and construction 25,200 over the year, in figures from an analysis by the consultancy Asterès carried by Presse Agence.

Why Do France Travail Numbers Show a Rise When INSEE Shows a Dip?

They measure different things, since INSEE counts a person as unemployed if they are aged 15 or over, had no job in the reference week, are available within two weeks and actively searched in the past four weeks, or found a job starting within three months.

France Travail, the public employment service, counts the people registered with it, and on average in the third quarter of 2026, in France excluding Mayotte, 3,353,400 people were in category A, with no work at all, and 5,847,500 were in categories A, B and C, which include people with reduced activity. Category A grew by 0.9% (+30,400) on the quarter and by 2.1% over a year.

Since January 2025, applicants for and recipients of the RSA, young jobseekers followed by the Missions locales, and disabled people followed by Cap emploi have been automatically registered with France Travail. Leaving out RSA recipients and young people in support schemes, category A rises 0.3% this quarter and 0.9% over a year, a figure not corrected for the sanctions decree. Corrected for that decree, the yearly rise in registrations outside RSA recipients is +0.6% for category A, or 15,000 more people, and +1.0% for categories A, B and C, or 46,000 more.

INSEE tracks the same law, the full employment act voted in December 2023. After seven quarters, its two target groups account for less than half of the rise in the overall unemployment rate since the end of 2024 (+0.35 point out of +0.84 point), though these contributions should be treated with caution because of survey uncertainty and the small share of the groups concerned. The unemployment rate among RSA recipients fell for the first time since the law took effect, to 46.2%.

What Is Happening to Young Workers in France?

Young people have the highest unemployment rate of any age band, though it fell this quarter. The employment rate for 15 to 24 year olds fell 0.2 point on the quarter, to 33.7%.

The share of 15 to 29 year olds who are not in employment, education or training is stable at 13.3%, 0.4 point above a year earlier. Permanent hiring of 21 to 29 year olds fell 28% between late 2022 and March 2026 in the jobs most exposed to AI, against 8% in the least exposed, in Banque de France data carried by Presse Agence, the same theme behind the fall in permanent hires for young French workers in AI-exposed jobs.

How Does France Compare With the Rest of the Euro Area?

France's rate was 8.5% in September 2026 on the Eurostat measure, above the euro area rate of 6.5%, which was stable compared with August and up from 6.3% in September 2025.

Across the EU, the rate was 6.2% in September 2026, up from 6.0% a year earlier, and the euro area youth rate was 15.4%, up from 15.1% in August 2026.

Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou said that the French labour market is doing better than holding up in a context of international and trade tensions.

Businesses keep recruiting despite the difficult period. This momentum is precious, it must be protected (translated), Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou said, according to the ICI report on the INSEE figures.

How Long Can Older Jobseekers Receive Unemployment Benefits?

Longer than younger claimants, under the rules set out on the Unédic page on benefit duration. The length of benefit depends on work and gaps between contracts during the 24 or 36 months before the end of your contract, with the window set according to your age.

The maximum notified duration rises with age at the end of the contract.

• Under 55, it cannot exceed 548 days (18 months).
• At 55 or 56, it is 685 days (22.5 months).
• At 57 or over, it is 822 days (27 months).

Jobseekers aged 55 or over in training paid under the return-to-work allowance (ARE or ARE Formation) can receive up to 4.5 months (137 days) of extra allowance, or 6 months for residents of the overseas departments and territories, if the course is validated in their engagement contract or funded at least in part by the personal training account (CPF), among several conditions.

One newer rule cuts the other way, since where benefit follows an individual negotiated exit (rupture conventionnelle) on or after 1 September 2026, the maximum for people aged 55 or over is 624 days, or about 20.5 months, outside the overseas departments and territories, with the option to request an extension, examined case by case. If you have reached the legal retirement age and have been paid for at least a year, benefit can be kept beyond the planned duration, at the latest up to the age of a full-rate pension (67).

What Is the Experience Contract for Older Jobseekers?

It is the experience contract, or contrat de valorisation de l'expérience (CVE), set out by the French Ministry of Labour. It is open to jobseekers aged at least 60, or 57 if an extended branch agreement allows it, who are registered with France Travail and who have not been employed in the same company or group in the past 6 months. It is not open to people who already draw a full-rate pension, with some exceptions.

The CVE follows the same rules as a permanent contract (CDI), except for those on retirement. When you sign, you give the employer a document from the national pension fund showing your expected date for a full-rate pension.

The trade-off is about the exit date, since the employer can retire the employee once they reach the legal age and meet the conditions for a full-rate pension, and that retirement brings a payment at least equal to the legal or collective-agreement severance payment. Any ending by the employer before that date counts as a dismissal, not a retirement.

For employers, the pull is a 40% exemption from the specific employer contribution on the retirement payment. The contract comes from Law no. 2025-989 of 24 October 2025 on the employment of experienced workers, and it applies to private-law employers and to public bodies employing staff under private law.

What This Means for Older Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

The headline dip does not reach the over-50s, whose rate edged up on the quarter. With more French jobseekers out of work and searching for at least a year, the long-term unemployment trap and how job seekers can avoid it is a live question for older jobseekers, who have reason to use every tool that lengthens their benefit runway.

• Check your benefit end date now. Your maximum notified duration depends on your age on the date your contract ends, so the gap between the under-55 and 55-or-over ceilings is worth knowing before you sign any exit.
• Weigh the exit route. A negotiated exit on or after 1 September 2026 carries a shorter maximum for people aged 55 or over.
• Use training to stretch benefit. Approved training can extend benefit for claimants aged 55 or over, and it gives you a current skill to show employers.
• Raise the CVE yourself. If you meet the Ministry of Labour's eligibility rules for the CVE, mention the contract and its employer contribution exemption when you apply for a permanent role.

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People Also Asked

Q: What is the unemployment rate in France right now?

A: INSEE put the rate at 8.2% of the labour force in the third quarter of 2026, down 0.1 point on the quarter and up 0.4 point on the year.

Q: Is unemployment rising for older workers in France?

A: Only marginally. The rate for people aged 50 or over was almost stable, up 0.1 point, at 5.6%, its highest level since early 2022, while it fell for younger age groups.

Q: How long is unemployment benefit in France for someone over 55?

A: The maximum notified duration is 685 days at 55 or 56 and 822 days at 57 or over, against 548 days for younger claimants.

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