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France — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for France, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
7.54%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -17.4% since 1991
Unemployment for France was 7.54% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 12.59% in 1994. The lowest was 7.30% in 2022 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.56% per year.
France ranks 57 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 30%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 5.58%, so France sits above it. It peaked in 1994 and has fallen 40% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 27%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
7.54%
First (1991)
9.13%
Change
-17.4%
Highest
12.59%
in 1994
Lowest
7.30%
in 2022
Average
9.49%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.56%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 7.54% |
| 2024 | 7.4% |
| 2023 | 7.34% |
| 2022 | 7.3% |
| 2021 | 7.87% |
| 2020 | 8.01% |
| 2019 | 8.41% |
| 2018 | 9.02% |
| 2017 | 9.41% |
| 2016 | 10.06% |
| 2015 | 10.35% |
| 2014 | 10.27% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.