France long-term unemployed share of total
France long-term unemployed share of total stood at 24.6 % of unemployed in Q2 2026, according to Eurostat – labour market slack by sex and age, quarterly (lfsi_sla_q). It is one of the indicators in the Labour market indicators (Eurostat) table (Value · Quarterly), with a complete series running from Q1 2003 to Q2 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Labour market indicators (Eurostat) table
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share of all unemployed | |||||||||||
| Long-term unemployed (12 months or more) | 24.6 | 24 | 23.4 | 23.5 | 22.8 | 22.3 | 23.9 | 22.4 | 23.3 | 23.3 | |
| Very long-term unemployed (24 months or more) | 10.3 | 10.1 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 8.9 | 9.7 | 10 |
Understanding france long-term unemployed share of total
This percentage calculates long-term jobseekers (twelve months or more) as a share of all unemployed persons, measuring the compositional depth of joblessness. Rather than comparing against the entire active workforce, the denominator restricts the base to total active jobseekers. This metric reveals whether a given volume of joblessness is concentrated among individuals facing prolonged exclusion or distributed among short-term entrants.
Interpreting this composition ratio requires understanding that economic downturns initially lower this share as new short-term jobseekers flood the market, even as absolute long-term counts rise. Early estimates face routine quarterly revisions. Analysts should track annual trends to evaluate structural shifts in labor market matching efficiency. A major pitfall is reading a falling share as an absolute improvement when it may simply reflect a surge in short-term joblessness.
Frequently asked questions
- How does the denominator of this series differ from labor force shares?
- It includes only total unemployed persons rather than the broader active workforce.
- What does a rising share indicate about the job market?
- It shows that a larger proportion of total jobseekers have been out of work for a year or more.
- Why might this ratio fall during the early stages of an economic downturn?
- An influx of newly jobless individuals temporarily dilutes the proportion of long-term cases.