The first quarterly publication of unemployment figures by the government showed a 1% decrease in the number of job seekers.
After the unusual decline recorded at the end of 2017 (-0.6 point), INSEE expected, in an economic outlook note published in March, a slight correction from January to March.
The latest quarterly change should, however, be analyzed with caution, as it falls within the margin of error of the indicator (plus or minus 0.3 point).
According to DARES, the statistics service of the Ministry of Labor, the number of category A job seekers (completely unemployed and required to seek employment), the most scrutinized by observers, decreased by 33,300 people in the first quarter in mainland France. This represents a 1% decrease over the first three months of the year and a 1.4% decrease over a year.
For its part, INSEE recorded an average of 2.75 million unemployed people in category A in the first quarter, which is an increase of 83,000 (+3.1%) over three months and a decrease of 79,000 (-2.8%) over twelve months.
In the metropolitan area alone, the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 point and stood at 8.9%. In absolute terms, INSEE counted 2.59 million unemployed people there.
