France’s ILO unemployment rate rose to 8.1% in Q1 2026 (+0.2 pts QoQ, +0.7 pts YoY), marking a continued increase in joblessness to the highest level since 2021.

• The number of unemployed increased by +68,000 QoQ to 2.6 million, pushing the unemployment rate higher and reinforcing the upward trend observed over the past year.
• By age group QoQ, unemployment declined for ages 15–24 to 21.1% (-0.4 pts), while it rose for ages 25–49 to 7.3% (+0.4 pts, highest since Q1 2021) and was broadly stable for ages 50+ at 5.2% (+0.1 pts), indicating divergence across cohorts.
• On a YoY basis, unemployment increased across all age groups, with +2.0 pts for ages 15–24, +0.6 pts for ages 25–49, and +0.4 pts for ages 50+, showing broad-based deterioration despite mixed quarterly changes.
• Men’s unemployment rate rose to 8.5% (+0.3 pts QoQ, +1.0 pt YoY), while women’s was largely stable at 7.7% (+0.1 pts QoQ, +0.3 pts YoY), highlighting stronger deterioration among men.
• The long-term unemployment rate increased to 2.0% (+0.2 pts QoQ, +0.3 pts YoY), reflecting a rise in the number of individuals unemployed for at least one year.
• The employment rate for ages 15–64 was broadly unchanged at 69.5% (+0.1 pts QoQ, -0.1 pts YoY), remaining just below its recent peak and indicating stable employment conditions despite rising unemployment.
• The activity rate rose to a new high of 75.6% (+0.1 pts QoQ, +0.4 pts YoY), suggesting increased labor force participation alongside the rise in unemployment.