France’s unemployment rate edged down to 8.2% in the third quarter of 2026, from 8.3% in the previous quarter, defying market expectations of an increase to 8.4%. The number of unemployed fell by 47,000 over the quarter to 2.63 million, although it remained 150,000 higher than in the same period a year earlier.
By age group, the unemployment rate for 15–24-year-olds declined to 21.0% from 21.5%, while the rate for those aged 25–49 fell to 7.3% from 7.5%. For people aged 50 and over, however, the rate inched up to 5.6% from 5.5%, its highest level since the first quarter of 2022.
By gender, the male unemployment rate rose slightly to 8.6% from 8.5%, whereas the female rate decreased to 7.8% from 8.1%.
At the same time, the employment rate for 15–64-year-olds ticked up to 69.1% from 69.0%, though it remained 0.2 percentage points below its level a year earlier. The activity rate eased marginally to 75.3% from 75.4%, but stood 0.1 percentage points higher than a year before.
