The unemployment rate in France edged down to 8.2% in the third quarter of 2026 from 8.3% in the previous quarter, defying market expectations that it would rise to 8.4%. The number of unemployed people decreased by 47,000 quarter-on-quarter to 2.63 million, but was up by 150,000 compared with the same period last year. Among age groups, the unemployment rate for those aged 15-24 fell to 21.0% from 21.5%, while the rate for those aged 25-49 declined to 7.3% from 7.5%. For people aged 50 and over, it edged up to 5.6% from 5.5%, marking the highest level since Q1 2022. By gender, the male unemployment rate increased to 8.6% from 8.5%, while the female rate declined to 7.8% from 8.1%. Meanwhile, the employment rate for people aged 15-64 edged up to 69.1% from 69.0%, remaining 0.2 percentage points lower than a year earlier. The activity rate declined slightly to 75.3% from 75.4%, but remained 0.1 percentage points higher year-on-year.