In France, as in all developed countries, the service sector provides the vast majority of jobs. There are almost as many women working (49%) as men (51%) but employment conditions according to gender are still very unequal.

Employment in France

What is the tertiary sector? It is the economic sector of service activities. It includes a wide variety of jobs related to trade, administration, transport, banking, and real estate. It also includes jobs in education, health, and social work.

Source : Insee

The unemployment rate has been falling steadily in France for several years. It affects about 7.4% of the population. This level is quite high for the European average.

The unemployment rate of people depends a lot on their level of education and their socio-professional categories: executives and higher education graduates are about three times more likely to find a job, than workers with little education. 

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate is 6.7% on average in the EU. It is 3.2% in Germany and 7.4% in France. It exceeds 12% in Spain and Greece. 

Unemployment rate of 15- to 74-year-old in the EU (end 2021) Graphic Eurostat

To go further: 

Consult the other articles on the blog dedicated to work.

Video :

Work, what is it for? Find all our videos about work in France in our playlist.

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