France Private Payroll Employment Falls 0.1% in Q4

2026-01-30 08:16 By Judith Sib-at 1 min. read

Private payroll employment in France decreased by 0.1%, or 28,700 jobs to 21.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, following a 0.1% fall in the previous quarter, according to preliminary data.

Temporary employment remained broadly stable, rising by 0.1% (+800 jobs) after falling by 0.6% (-4,300 jobs) in the prior quarter.

Excluding temporary work, job losses were recorded in industry (-3,200 jobs), construction (-3,100 jobs), commercial services (-18,500 jobs), and non-market services (-12,000 jobs).

On a yearly basis, private payroll employment dropped by 0.2%, or 40,800 jobs, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of decline after almost four years of growth.

Still, employment remained well above its pre-pandemic level (end of 2019), with an increase of 5.3% or 1.1 million jobs.



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