As a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the year 2020 saw the destruction of 360,500 jobs in the private sector in France, according to the provisional estimate published on Friday by INSEE.
This represents a drop of 1.8%, after five consecutive years of increases.
In the last quarter of the year, private sector employment fell moderately (-0.2%, or 39,600 net destruction) under the effect of the health crisis and the second confinement, after a sharp rebound in summer (+ 1.6%, or 312,400 net creations in the 3rd quarter).
But this is insufficient to offset the sharp drop in previous quarters (-633,300).
Private salaried employment remains below its pre-crisis level.
"At the end of 2020, it reached its lowest level since mid-2018", indicates the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.
263,100 jobs created in 2019
The previous year, before the arrival of the pandemic, had been a good vintage for employment with 263,100 jobs created (+ 1.4%), almost 100,000 more jobs than in 2018, but 90,000 less than in 2017.
In the 4th quarter of 2020, temporary work, a true compass for the job market, continued to recover: + 5.3% (+37,700 jobs) after + 22.9% and + 22.8% in the second and third quarters.
But these three successive increases do not offset the historic drop in the first quarter (-40.3% or -317,700 jobs).
At the end of 2020, temporary employment therefore remains below its level at the end of 2019 (-5.1%, i.e. -40,500 jobs) and close to its level of mid-2017.
Excluding temporary work, employment is declining in industry and the market service sector, but is increasing in the non-market service sector.
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Over one year, the drop in industry reached -2.0%, or -61,700 jobs.
This is the strongest annual drop since 2010. In construction, private salaried employment (excluding temporary work) remains above its pre-crisis level: + 1.4% over one year (+20,300 jobs).
Private employment in the non-market tertiary sector is 0.6% (i.e. +13,900) above its level at the end of 2019.
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