FX.co ★ France Private Payroll Employment Falls in Q3

In the third quarter of 2025, France experienced a 0.3% reduction in private payroll employment, representing a decline of 60,600 jobs, bringing the total to a near three-year low of 20.97 million jobs. This downturn reversed a 0.2% increase seen in the previous quarter. The majority of the job losses were concentrated in the temporary employment sector, which fell by 0.2% and accounted for approximately two-thirds of the overall decline. When excluding temporary employment, the industry sector showed minimal change with a decrease of 0.1%, while the construction sector saw a continued decline of 0.3%. Market services (excluding temporary employment) experienced a 0.3% dip, and non-market services also decreased by 0.3%. On an annual comparison, there was a 0.5% drop in private payroll employment, equating to a loss of 112,100 jobs, marking a fourth consecutive year of decline. Nevertheless, employment levels remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic figures, reflecting a 5.2% increase, or 1 million more jobs, since the end of 2019. Despite these gains, the temporary employment sector remains 2.6% below its level in the third quarter of 2024 and is still 8.6% below pre-pandemic levels.