Informations Rapides · 8 September 2021 · n° 231

In Q2 2021, payroll employment increased by 1.1% and slightly exceeded its pre-crisis level Payroll employment - second quarter 2021

Between the end of March and the end of June 2021, payroll employment increased by 1.1% (+289,400 jobs) after +0.6% (+148,500) in the previous quarter. This increase is mainly due to private payroll employment, which rose strongly again: +1.4% (+265,100) after +0.8% (+149,800 jobs). Payroll employment in the public service increased by 0.4% (+24,300 jobs) after remaining almost stable in the first quarter (-1,300 jobs). Payroll employment exceeded its pre-crisis level (end of 2019) by 0.4% in the private sector (+85,800) and by 1.0% in the public sector (+59,600). In total, at the end of June 2021, payroll employment was 0.6% above its end of 2019 level (+145,400).

In this publication, temporary workers are accounted for in the temporary employment within market services, whichever sector they carry out their assignment (industry, construction, market or non market services). In each of these sectors, a large part of the short-term adjustment to the crisis was initially made by a drop in the use of temporary staff in the first quarter of 2020 (–40.3% that is −318,000 jobs). Then temporary work rebounded sharply: +22.1%, +23.6% and +5.2% in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2020 (a total of +276,100 jobs). In the first semester of 2021, temporary work increased again but at a more moderate pace: +0.2% (+1,200) in the first quarter and +2.4% (+17,900) in the second quarter. However, this dynamism over five consecutive quarters do not fully compensate for the historic drop in the first quarter of 2020: in mid-2021, temporary work remains 2.9% (−22,700) below its pre-crisis level (end of 2019).

Industrial employment (excluding temporary work) was again almost stable in Q2 2021: +0.1% (or +2,900 jobs) after +0.2% in the previous quarter (or +5,900 jobs). In this sector, employment is 1.5% below its pre-crisis level (i.e. -48,600 compared to the end of 2019).

In market services excluding temporary work, in Q2 2021, payroll employment increased sharply: +2,0% (+234,700 jobs) after a 0.7% increase in the previous quarter (+85,000). In particular, it jumped in accommodation and food services (+11.7% or +118,300 jobs), and increased significantly in trade (+1.4%), information and communication (+1.8%), business services (+1.3%) and other services activities (+2.2%). In total, by mid-2021, employment in the market services excluding temporary work exceeded its end of 2019 level by 0.3% (+32,200).

In construction, payroll employment excluding temporary work slowed significantly: +0.2% after +2.1% in the previous quarter (or +3,100 after +30,600). It stayed well above its pre-crisis level: +4.5% compared to the end of 2019 (+64,600).

Payroll employment in the mainly non-market services sector increased by 0.4% (+28,700), a pace comparable to the two previous quarters. Employment in this sector is well above its level of one year ago, which was affected by the first lockdown, and also exceeds its pre-crisis level (+1.4% compared to the end of 2019, i.e. +115,900), mainly in the health sector (+4.0% or +63,700 jobs). Public employment, which represents the majority of this sector, increased by 0.4% over the quarter after remaining stable in the previous quarter.

Compared to the employment estimate published on 10 June 2021, the increase in payroll employment (private and public) in the first quarter of 2021 is raised by 62,400 or 0.3 points. The revision comes mainly from market services (+35,900) but also from construction (+10,800) and non-market services (+10,600). Compared to the flash estimate published on 6 August 2021, the increase in payroll employment in the private sector alone in the second quarter of 2021 is accentuated by 25,600 (or +0.2 points), to +265,100. This revision is mainly due to the market services.