France very long-term unemployed share of total
France very long-term unemployed share of total stood at 10.3 % 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 2021 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 | |||||||||||
| 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 | |
| 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 |
Understanding france very long-term unemployed share of total
This metric expresses very long-term jobseekers (twenty-four months or more) as a share of all unemployed persons, capturing the most severe structural concentration within the jobless pool. The denominator is restricted to total active jobseekers, isolating the proportion facing extreme multi-year exclusion. This ratio highlights the degree of structural hardening within the broader total of unemployed individuals.
When examining this structural composition, analysts must account for the lagged nature of extreme duration shifts relative to business cycles. Preliminary figures are subject to regular revisions. Year-on-year comparisons provide the most honest gauge of structural deterioration or improvement. A common analytical error is interpreting movements in this ratio as changes in total unemployment volume, whereas it strictly measures internal composition.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the numerator of this composition metric represent?
- Jobseekers who have been continuously without work for two years or longer.
- How does the denominator restrict the scope of this measure?
- It counts only total unemployed persons, excluding the employed and inactive populations.
- Why is this composition share slow to move?
- Multi-year detachment requires sustained structural interventions to shift significantly.