France Private Payroll Employment Stalls in Q2

Private payroll employment in France stalled in the second quarter of 2025, with a decline of 4,800 jobs, bringing the total to 20.97 million — the lowest level in nearly three years, preliminary estimates showed. This followed a 0.1% drop in the previous quarter and contrasted with market expectations of a 0.1% rise. Employment was virtually stable in both industry (-0.1%) and market services (+0.1%), and it increased slightly in non-market services (+0.2%). Meanwhile, employment continued to decline in the construction sector (-0.5%). On a yearly basis, private payroll employment fell by 0.4%, or 93,900 jobs, although it remained significantly above pre-pandemic levels (Q4 2019), up 5.2%, representing an increase of 1.0 million jobs.