France unemployment rate third quarter 2026 Insee, Digi Mart USA News: French Labor Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou said the job market is “still resilient” despite a “economic situation” and “slowed growth,” stating on franceinfo’s morning program on Tuesday, November 10, that “the labor market is holding up well.”
Figures published Tuesday morning by the national statistics agency Insee show the unemployment rate was nearly stable in the third quarter. It stood at 8.2 percent of the active population at the end of October, a decline of 0.1 percentage point from the previous quarter.
The minister described this as “satisfactory,” noting that “the employment rate is rising.”
However, the figure is up 0.4 percentage point compared with the third quarter of 2025.
Asked about the minimum wage increase, Farandou said “the boost we have decided will not harm employment.” He cited an estimate by the Dares research directorate that between 5,000 and 20,000 jobs could be affected. He called this figure “very marginal” compared with the 47,000 people who found work during the third quarter, alongside the slight decline in unemployment.
The government announced a 0.6 percent increase in the minimum wage on its own initiative, in addition to the automatic 1 percent adjustment linked to inflation. The minimum wage will reach about 1,502 euros per month, roughly 24 euros more than currently.
The announcement followed a social conference at Matignon the previous day that brought together unions and employers.
