Salaried employment remained stable in the third quarter despite a slight decline in the private sector.

In the third quarter of 2025, salaried employment is stable (0,0%, or -10.700 jobs) after a slight increase in the previous quarter (+0,2% or +49.300 jobs), indicates the National Institute of Statistics.

The level of salaried employment is thus 0,2% below its level measured a year earlier, with 54.400 jobs destroyed, "but still clearly exceeds its level before the health crisis, at the end of 2019 (+5% or +1,3 million jobs)," notes INSEE.

"We are in a period where there is practically no job creation," summarizes Yves Jauneau, head of the Labor Market Synthesis and Outlook division at INSEE. "There is no collapse, at this stage, of salaried employment," he adds, however, thanks in particular to "the employment of older workers, which is very dynamic and contributes to increasing the overall volume of jobs."

The figures published a few days ago correct provisional figures released by INSEE in early November, which showed a 0,3% decline in private sector employment in the third quarter. In the private sector, the decline in salaried employment was ultimately only -0,1%, representing a loss of 27.300 jobs.

Over the course of a year, private sector salaried employment fell by 0,3% (or 72.900 jobs), which represents "the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline after almost four years of increase", notes INSEE.

In the public sector, however, salaried employment continued to increase slightly in the third quarter, by 0,3%, following a 0,1% increase in the second quarter. The year-on-year increase was also 0,3%.

Against a backdrop of reduced public funding, apprenticeship contracts declined sharply over the quarter, with a decrease of 4,6%, representing 49.200 fewer jobs, and over the year (-2,5%). However, they remain "significantly higher than their level at the end of 2019 (+58%)," notes INSEE.

Due to this decline in apprenticeships, private sector salaried employment fell for 15-29 year olds (-0,7%). However, it continued to increase for those aged 55 and over: +1% over the quarter, bringing the year-on-year increase to +2,1%.

In the third quarter, temporary employment declined (-0,6%, or -4.300 temporary workers). Over the year, it fell by 2,9%.

Over the quarter, salaried employment fell sharply in agriculture (-3,5%), mainly due to grape harvests "more concentrated in August than usual", but it stabilized in industry and construction.

Salaried employment in the non-market tertiary sector increased by 0,2%, a rise driven by its public component, with in particular 9.500 more teaching jobs, 4.400 in public administration and 3.600 in health.

These jobs are not always civil service jobs, however, as these are rather on a "downward trend" in the medium term, but often contract jobs, particularly nurses, caregivers and assistants for students with disabilities, Mr. Jauneau points out.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.