The number of vacant jobs continues its slight decline since the start of the year. But it remains well above its level before the health crisis.
Many companies are still struggling to find candidates for their open positions. If the number vacant jobs* continues its slight decline in France, it still remains high. In the second quarter, 355,600 positions were unfilled, or 4% less than in the first quarter, indicates the Dares. Before that, job vacancies had already fallen by 5% in the first quarter compared to the end of last year.
“The number of vacant jobs is falling in all major sectors: -7% in the non-market tertiary sector, -5% in la construction-4% in industry and -3% in the commercial tertiary sector”, specifies Dares.
So-called “vacant” jobs, or “vacant positions”, are defined by Dares as “vacant positions, newly created or unoccupied or still occupied and about to become available, for which active steps are taken to find the suitable candidate.
65% more vacant jobs compared to 2019
Despite this slow decline, the number of unfilled positions in France remains much higher than before the health crisis. The number of unoccupied jobs increased by 65% compared to the last quarter of 2019. In construction, this figure increased by 79%, while it gained 76% in industry and 71% in the non-tertiary sector. merchant. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of vacant jobs even reached a record at 2.48%.
If we report these unfilled jobs to the total number of jobsthey represented 2.2% in the second quarter of 2023. For comparison, this rate of vacant jobs reached 1.45% in the fourth quarter of 2019.
But if this structural increase in the rate of vacant jobs accelerated under the effect of the pandemic, it began well before. While it exceeds 2% in 2023, the rate of vacant jobs reached 0.6% in 2013 and around 0.4% in 2003.
*The data covers establishments of companies with 10 or more employees in the private sector, located in mainland France and in the overseas department-regions (Drom) excluding Mayotte. Excluded from the scope are agriculture, temporary work, individual employers and public employment.
