What is the source of the France private sector employment data?

The quarterly employment and short-time work statistics are compiled and published by URSSAF in France.

Does this France employment table include self-employed workers?

Yes, the table tracks both salaried private sector employment by industry and the total number of self-employed workers in France.

How far back does the France employment by sector dataset go?

The quarterly series for private sector employment, self-employed headcounts, and short-time work in France start in 1998.

Which industries are included in the France employment breakdown?

The table covers a wide range of private industries in France, including construction, telecommunications, real estate, education, and various manufacturing sectors.

FrançaisDeutsch

France employment by sector

Name: France employment by sector
Creator: URSSAF – Union de recouvrement des cotisations de sécurité sociale et d'allocations familiales
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

France employment in the private sector by industry, quarterly from URSSAF.

Source: URSSAF – Union de recouvrement des cotisations de sécurité sociale et d'allocations familialesLast updated: Sep 14, 2026, 16:17Curated by Bui Thanh PhucAbout this data ↓

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
Private employment by sector37
All private sector	20,228,616	20,241,904	20,239,792	20,268,386	20,287,761	20,282,700	20,294,403	20,316,052	20,304,734	20,318,790	20,286,604	20,269,545	20,259,821
Mining and quarrying	19,443	19,477	19,553	19,665	19,780	19,877	20,000	20,152	20,270	20,310	20,470	20,397	20,393
Food, beverages and tobacco	600,834	600,087	598,819	597,250	597,848	596,183	594,882	592,304	589,863	588,468	585,882	583,771	583,272
Textiles, clothing, leather and footwear	105,865	106,244	106,797	107,247	107,854	108,465	109,083	109,624	109,627	109,978	110,370	110,198	110,296
Wood, paper and printing	147,946	149,164	150,175	151,226	152,519	154,148	155,604	156,846	157,906	158,557	159,671	160,370	161,358
Coke and refined petroleum	8,812	8,817	8,862	8,863	8,818	8,776	8,763	8,809	8,805	8,797	8,770	8,758	8,729
Chemicals	156,118	156,516	156,581	157,180	157,408	157,559	158,054	157,895	157,854	157,392	157,484	157,246	156,980
Pharmaceuticals	87,444	87,004	87,056	87,126	86,930	86,684	86,529	86,219	85,976	85,442	84,366	83,604	82,831
Rubber, plastics and non-metallic minerals	236,711	238,313	239,375	241,084	242,537	244,030	245,644	247,034	248,690	249,988	251,766	252,265	253,157
Basic metals and metal products	356,976	358,812	360,591	362,530	363,041	364,860	366,742	368,132	369,200	370,270	370,864	370,546	370,302
Computer, electronic and optical products	136,720	136,492	136,477	136,610	136,317	136,285	135,844	135,408	135,357	134,806	134,258	133,199	131,723
Electrical equipment	112,180	112,268	113,007	112,800	112,676	112,208	111,842	111,566	110,881	110,903	110,096	109,442	108,902
Machinery and equipment n.e.c.	171,888	172,374	172,788	173,512	174,072	175,321	175,703	176,284	176,000	175,650	175,947	175,794	175,984
Transport equipment	348,975	347,387	347,667	348,480	348,362	354,712	355,394	355,936	356,354	354,402	353,086	351,411	348,687
Other manufacturing and repair	295,976	296,719	297,508	297,626	298,129	298,525	298,402	299,011	298,835	297,836	296,558	294,965	293,484
Electricity, gas and steam supply	191,637	191,053	189,533	189,047	188,209	186,962	185,933	184,444	183,269	182,046	181,046	179,972	178,719
Water supply, sewerage and waste	171,175	170,647	170,343	170,150	169,682	169,401	168,887	168,499	167,951	167,255	166,746	165,513	164,752
Construction	1,578,408	1,585,339	1,593,077	1,598,257	1,600,877	1,605,757	1,612,385	1,619,852	1,626,943	1,635,128	1,640,301	1,644,584	1,652,533
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of vehicles	3,325,425	3,325,952	3,326,086	3,332,868	3,343,535	3,339,025	3,342,119	3,335,673	3,338,714	3,345,405	3,343,095	3,344,528	3,345,229
Transportation and storage	1,492,638	1,492,663	1,494,825	1,491,893	1,488,965	1,487,379	1,485,862	1,482,099	1,479,941	1,475,353	1,474,844	1,474,681	1,473,533
Accommodation and food services	1,381,937	1,377,379	1,374,836	1,380,256	1,373,195	1,358,546	1,357,707	1,356,112	1,349,395	1,346,160	1,340,868	1,340,941	1,333,606
Publishing, audiovisual and broadcasting	240,789	241,977	241,068	243,258	245,379	244,801	245,937	246,355	245,700	247,340	245,861	247,695	248,686
Telecommunications	110,883	111,923	113,137	114,422	116,079	117,530	118,806	120,257	121,311	122,250	123,060	123,978	124,967
IT and information services	566,926	568,293	570,247	572,800	573,973	577,396	579,916	584,121	586,363	587,882	588,526	587,992	588,266
Financial and insurance activities	821,022	819,851	818,165	816,084	816,234	814,913	813,705	813,067	812,003	810,003	808,430	805,864	803,853
Real estate activities	268,854	269,705	270,432	270,939	273,002	272,997	273,302	274,171	276,990	279,383	281,778	283,968	287,926
Legal, accounting, management, architecture and engineering	1,284,783	1,283,849	1,282,942	1,283,631	1,287,511	1,284,900	1,283,181	1,280,517	1,279,029	1,277,090	1,273,002	1,268,738	1,262,767
Scientific research and development	111,701	111,843	112,183	112,611	113,152	113,241	115,093	114,879	115,074	114,967	114,733	114,642	113,923
Other professional, scientific and technical activities	205,336	205,408	205,404	206,013	206,357	207,289	207,993	215,949	217,002	218,245	217,855	217,989	217,789
Temporary employment agency workers	699,451	706,163	707,383	707,120	711,822	709,804	712,401	727,767	735,853	753,898	757,827	767,279	786,162
Administrative and support services (excl. temporary workers)	1,486,495	1,486,928	1,486,278	1,484,161	1,481,960	1,485,048	1,485,542	1,491,479	1,481,117	1,481,629	1,472,129	1,469,711	1,462,555
Public administration (private-law employers)	190,196	190,913	191,627	193,067	193,632	193,353	192,937	192,213	191,427	190,402	189,258	188,615	189,225
Education	392,604	393,326	392,800	395,308	397,108	398,289	398,272	398,353	397,600	397,240	397,290	395,801	396,125
Human health activities	660,530	657,892	655,425	652,490	650,391	647,824	646,980	645,430	641,562	638,350	636,147	630,846	629,276
Residential care and social work	1,391,412	1,387,107	1,380,149	1,384,134	1,380,713	1,382,056	1,375,617	1,368,292	1,361,037	1,355,428	1,347,533	1,338,016	1,331,961
Arts, entertainment and recreation	363,051	365,717	360,427	360,318	360,032	358,675	357,892	358,605	357,701	356,058	353,678	352,349	346,264
Other service activities	507,475	508,302	508,169	508,360	509,662	509,881	511,450	512,698	513,134	514,479	513,009	513,877	515,606
Self-employed workers2
Traditional self-employed		1,921,428	1,914,676	1,910,112	1,906,519	1,903,937	1,902,024	1,898,945	1,899,042	1,897,370	1,895,127	1,892,925	1,890,662
Micro-entrepreneurs		1,698,387	1,659,558	1,639,339	1,608,767	1,581,630	1,568,028	1,538,060	1,522,066	1,503,152	1,463,999	1,436,491	1,414,976
Short-time work by sector2
Short-time work allowance base1
Short-time work base as a share of the gross wage bill35

Latest reading

All private sector stood at 20,228,616 Persons in Q2 2026. That is −0.1% from Q1 2026 and −0.3% from a year earlier. The series on this page is quarterly and runs from Q3 1998 to Q2 2026.

Latest: 20,228,616 Persons; Q2 2026
vs previous period: −0.1%; Q1 2026
vs a year earlier: −0.3%

About this data

France employment in the private sector by industry, quarterly from URSSAF. The dataset covers salaried headcount across diverse activities such as construction, financial services, and accommodation. It also tracks the number of self-employed workers and hours of short-time work by sector. These quarterly series are available since 1998.

Frequently asked questions

What is the source of the France private sector employment data?: The quarterly employment and short-time work statistics are compiled and published by URSSAF in France.
Does this France employment table include self-employed workers?: Yes, the table tracks both salaried private sector employment by industry and the total number of self-employed workers in France.
How far back does the France employment by sector dataset go?: The quarterly series for private sector employment, self-employed headcounts, and short-time work in France start in 1998.
Which industries are included in the France employment breakdown?: The table covers a wide range of private industries in France, including construction, telecommunications, real estate, education, and various manufacturing sectors.