If logically, the number of unemployed people should have skyrocketed given the severity of the crisis and the abrupt halt in activity, the much-dreaded increase has yet to be felt since the start of the pandemic.
After a deceptive drop at the dawn of the crisis, followed by a slight deterioration in the subsequent quarters returning to the early 2020 levels, the unemployment rate remained stable in the first quarter of 2021, with a slight increase of 0.1 point, reaching 8.1% of the active population in France (excluding Mayotte).
By the end of March, France had about 2.4 million unemployed people, an increase of 18,000 in three months. Over a year, the unemployment rate, as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO), is up by 0.3 points, thus returning to its late 2019 level. That is, back to the pre-crisis level.
