France labour market slack and indicators
France labour market slack and harmonised labour indicators from Eurostat.
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | Q4-2023 | Q3-2023 | Q2-2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour market slack1 | ||||||||||||||
| Labour market slack2 | 5,132 | 5,052 | 5,016 | 4,966 | 4,961 | 4,808 | 4,800 | 4,726 | 4,800 | 4,759 | 4,800 | 4,785 | 4,788 | |
| Long-term unemployment3 | ||||||||||||||
| Share of the labour force4 | ||||||||||||||
| Share of all unemployed2 | ||||||||||||||
| Number of persons2 | ||||||||||||||
| Labour market transitions2 | ||||||||||||||
| Persons by status in two consecutive quarters9 | ||||||||||||||
| Share of the starting status group9 | ||||||||||||||
| Employment by occupation3 | ||||||||||||||
| Employed persons1 | ||||||||||||||
| Employees1 | ||||||||||||||
| Self-employed persons1 | ||||||||||||||
| By level of education5 | ||||||||||||||
| Unemployment rate, 15-74 years1 | ||||||||||||||
| Unemployment rate, 15-24 years1 | ||||||||||||||
| Unemployment rate, 25-64 years1 | ||||||||||||||
| Employment rate, 20-64 years1 | ||||||||||||||
| Employment rate, 25-64 years1 | ||||||||||||||
| By citizenship3 | ||||||||||||||
| Both sexes5 | ||||||||||||||
| Men5 | ||||||||||||||
| Women5 | ||||||||||||||
| Working time and absences3 | ||||||||||||||
| Actual hours worked in the main job, index 2021=1003 | ||||||||||||||
| Persons absent from work during the reference week3 | ||||||||||||||
| Absence rate, share of total employment3 | ||||||||||||||
| Unit labour costs and productivity2 | ||||||||||||||
| Index4 | ||||||||||||||
| Change on same quarter of previous year4 |
Latest reading
The latest reading is 5,132 Thousand persons, for Q2 2026. That is +1.6% from Q1 2026 and +3.4% from a year earlier. The series on this page is quarterly and runs from Q1 2014 to Q2 2026. Source: Eurostat – labour market slack by sex and age, quarterly (lfsi_sla_q).
- Latest
- 5,132 Thousand persons
- Q2 2026
- vs previous period
- +1.6%
- Q1 2026
- vs a year earlier
- +3.4%
About this data
France labour market slack and harmonised labour indicators from Eurostat. This quarterly dataset covers long-term unemployment, labour market transitions, and unit labour costs since 1980. It includes breakdowns by sex, age, level of education, citizenship, and occupation. Users can track working time, absences, and nominal unit labour cost per person.
Frequently asked questions
- What is France labour market slack?
- France labour market slack measures the unmet demand for employment in France. It includes the unemployed, underemployed part-time workers, and persons available but not seeking work or seeking but not immediately available.
- How often is the French labour market slack data updated?
- Eurostat publishes this French labour market dataset on a quarterly basis, with historical series starting from 1980.
- What breakdowns are available for France labour market indicators?
- The indicators for France are broken down by sex, age, level of education, citizenship, and occupation, alongside data on working time and absences.
- How are unit labour costs measured in this France dataset?
- Unit labour costs in France are presented as an index with 2020 as the base year, showing nominal unit labour cost per person and year-on-year percentage changes.
