Unemployment: 7.5%, stability hiding a huge gap.

The news is in: according to INSEE, the national statistics institute, the unemployment rate is “stable” at 7.5% in the second quarter of 2025.

A hollow-sounding figure? We dug a little deeper.

Yes, the number of unemployed people (in the strict sense — more on that shortly) stands at 2.4 million. That's the same level as the first quarter, which was itself revised upwards. But the real story lies elsewhere.

Behind the curtain: three age groups, three realities

Forget the national average; the truth is in the detail.

Young people (15–24): the unemployment rate is still high at 19%. Slightly down this quarter, but up over the year. A warning signal for the generation arriving on the job market.

Older workers (50+): here's the good news. At just 4.8%, they are the least affected group. Their rate is even down over twelve months.

The 25–49s: for this group the rate climbs to 6.9%, a slight rise on the previous quarter and on last year.

The “halo”: the invisible unemployed

The official 7.5% figure counts only those actively looking for work. But there's a grey area: the so-called “unemployment halo”.

Who are they? Nearly 1.9 million people who want to work but aren't counted as unemployed (because they aren't immediately available, or have stopped looking). A figure that reminds us statistics don't tell the whole story.

A record high: the glass half full

Even so, INSEE has good news up its sleeve. The employment rate (the share of working-age people who have a job) has hit an all-time high of 69.6%. That's the highest level since 1975.

It means one thing: more people are working in France than ever before. If the unemployment rate is flat, it's because the labour market is in full swing.

So what do we make of it?

Official figures are a good starting point, but you always have to look at what's happening behind the scenes to understand the real dynamics of the job market.