Ninety-six out of ninety-six
Between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026, the unemployment rate rose in every one of the 96 départements of mainland France. Mainland France as a whole went from 7.3% to 8.1%, a rise of 0.8 points, and the rate rose in all 13 regions.
That had not happened for a long time. INSEE’s localised series starts in 1982, and the last quarter in which every mainland département stood higher than a year earlier was the third quarter of 2013. It happened again in the first quarter of 2026, and now in the second.
The national figure agrees. Including the overseas départements except Mayotte, the rate is 8.3%, the same as INSEE’s national ILO rate for the quarter, published on 7 August. The mainland rate of 8.1% is also above its level at the end of 2019, 7.9%.
Where it is highest, and where it rose most
Pyrénées-Orientales has the highest rate in mainland France, 12.8%, followed by Seine-Saint-Denis at 11.5%, Aude at 11.1% and Hérault at 11.0%. At the other end, Cantal has 4.8% and Lozère 5.0%. Ten départements are at 10% or more, five below 6%, and the median département is at 7.7%.
The largest rise was in Val-d’Oise, 1.2 points, from 8.3% to 9.5%, then Loiret, 1.1 points. Six more rose by a full point: Aube, Indre, Nord, Vaucluse, Hauts-de-Seine and Var. The smallest rises, 0.3 points, were in Cantal, Lozère, Meuse and Nièvre. The typical département rose by 0.7 points.
The large cities followed the same line. Paris went from 6.0% to 6.6%, Rhône from 6.8% to 7.7%, Haute-Garonne from 8.1% to 9.0%, Gironde from 7.1% to 8.0% and Nord from 9.8% to 10.8%.
Against the end of 2019 the picture is more mixed. 41 départements are above their level of the fourth quarter of 2019, 9 are level with it and 46 are still below it. The rise of the past year is broad, but it has not yet undone the fall of the years before it everywhere.
| Département | Q2 2025, % | Q2 2026, % | Change, points | Q4 2019, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainland France | 7.3% | 8.1% | +0.8 | 7.9% |
| Pyrénées-Orientales (66) | 12.0% | 12.8% | +0.8 | 13.2% |
| Seine-Saint-Denis (93) | 10.6% | 11.5% | +0.9 | 10.6% |
| Aude (11) | 10.3% | 11.1% | +0.8 | 11.0% |
| Hérault (34) | 10.3% | 11.0% | +0.7 | 11.4% |
| Aisne (02) | 10.2% | 10.9% | +0.7 | 11.3% |
| Nord (59) | 9.8% | 10.8% | +1.0 | 10.6% |
| Vaucluse (84) | 9.8% | 10.8% | +1.0 | 10.6% |
| Gard (30) | 9.8% | 10.6% | +0.8 | 11.2% |
| Ardennes (08) | 9.6% | 10.2% | +0.6 | 9.9% |
| Aube (10) | 9.1% | 10.1% | +1.0 | 10.3% |
| Ariège (09) | 9.1% | 9.9% | +0.8 | 10.3% |
| Territoire de Belfort (90) | 9.3% | 9.9% | +0.6 | 8.9% |
| Tarn-et-Garonne (82) | 8.7% | 9.5% | +0.8 | 9.5% |
| Val-d’Oise (95) | 8.3% | 9.5% | +1.2 | 8.3% |
| Bouches-du-Rhône (13) | 8.7% | 9.4% | +0.7 | 9.7% |
| Pas-de-Calais (62) | 8.5% | 9.4% | +0.9 | 9.9% |
| Haute-Garonne (31) | 8.1% | 9.0% | +0.9 | 7.9% |
| Seine-Maritime (76) | 8.3% | 9.0% | +0.7 | 9.3% |
| Somme (80) | 8.3% | 8.9% | +0.6 | 9.7% |
| Tarn (81) | 8.1% | 8.8% | +0.7 | 8.6% |
| Val-de-Marne (94) | 7.7% | 8.6% | +0.9 | 7.3% |
| Allier (03) | 7.8% | 8.5% | +0.7 | 8.7% |
| Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04) | 7.8% | 8.5% | +0.7 | 9.3% |
| Loiret (45) | 7.4% | 8.5% | +1.1 | 8.0% |
| Charente (16) | 7.6% | 8.4% | +0.8 | 7.9% |
| Oise (60) | 7.6% | 8.4% | +0.8 | 8.1% |
| Vosges (88) | 7.6% | 8.4% | +0.8 | 8.7% |
| Ardèche (07) | 7.6% | 8.3% | +0.7 | 9.0% |
| Loire (42) | 7.7% | 8.3% | +0.6 | 8.2% |
| Lot-et-Garonne (47) | 7.5% | 8.3% | +0.8 | 8.2% |
| Drôme (26) | 7.8% | 8.2% | +0.4 | 8.9% |
| Hautes-Pyrénées (65) | 7.5% | 8.2% | +0.7 | 9.1% |
| Var (83) | 7.2% | 8.2% | +1.0 | 8.7% |
| Doubs (25) | 7.5% | 8.1% | +0.6 | 7.5% |
| Sarthe (72) | 7.3% | 8.1% | +0.8 | 8.3% |
| Yonne (89) | 7.4% | 8.1% | +0.7 | 7.6% |
| Gironde (33) | 7.1% | 8.0% | +0.9 | 7.8% |
| Charente-Maritime (17) | 7.0% | 7.9% | +0.9 | 8.2% |
| Cher (18) | 7.1% | 7.9% | +0.8 | 8.6% |
| Dordogne (24) | 7.1% | 7.9% | +0.8 | 8.2% |
| Marne (51) | 7.1% | 7.9% | +0.8 | 7.6% |
| Seine-et-Marne (77) | 7.1% | 7.9% | +0.8 | 6.8% |
| Haut-Rhin (68) | 7.1% | 7.8% | +0.7 | 7.8% |
| Indre (36) | 6.8% | 7.8% | +1.0 | 7.9% |
| Moselle (57) | 7.2% | 7.8% | +0.6 | 8.0% |
| Orne (61) | 7.2% | 7.8% | +0.6 | 7.6% |
| Essonne (91) | 6.8% | 7.7% | +0.9 | 6.5% |
| Eure (27) | 7.1% | 7.7% | +0.6 | 8.1% |
| Eure-et-Loir (28) | 6.8% | 7.7% | +0.9 | 7.9% |
| Rhône (69) | 6.8% | 7.7% | +0.9 | 7.4% |
| Yvelines (78) | 6.9% | 7.7% | +0.8 | 6.3% |
| Haute-Vienne (87) | 7.0% | 7.6% | +0.6 | 7.4% |
| Lot (46) | 7.2% | 7.6% | +0.4 | 8.0% |
| Meurthe-et-Moselle (54) | 6.8% | 7.6% | +0.8 | 7.9% |
| Alpes-Maritimes (06) | 6.9% | 7.5% | +0.6 | 8.4% |
| Calvados (14) | 6.8% | 7.5% | +0.7 | 7.5% |
| Haute-Saône (70) | 6.8% | 7.5% | +0.7 | 7.3% |
| Indre-et-Loire (37) | 6.7% | 7.5% | +0.8 | 7.5% |
| Meuse (55) | 7.2% | 7.5% | +0.3 | 7.5% |
| Creuse (23) | 6.9% | 7.4% | +0.5 | 7.6% |
| Hauts-de-Seine (92) | 6.4% | 7.4% | +1.0 | 6.3% |
| Landes (40) | 6.7% | 7.4% | +0.7 | 7.8% |
| Bas-Rhin (67) | 6.5% | 7.3% | +0.8 | 6.9% |
| Maine-et-Loire (49) | 6.6% | 7.3% | +0.7 | 7.6% |
| Nièvre (58) | 7.0% | 7.3% | +0.3 | 7.1% |
| Puy-de-Dôme (63) | 6.5% | 7.3% | +0.8 | 7.1% |
| Vienne (86) | 6.5% | 7.3% | +0.8 | 6.6% |
| Haute-Marne (52) | 6.6% | 7.2% | +0.6 | 7.2% |
| Saône-et-Loire (71) | 6.7% | 7.2% | +0.5 | 7.4% |
| Finistère (29) | 6.3% | 7.1% | +0.8 | 7.1% |
| Haute-Corse (2B) | 6.7% | 7.1% | +0.4 | 8.2% |
| Loir-et-Cher (41) | 6.3% | 6.9% | +0.6 | 6.8% |
| Hautes-Alpes (05) | 6.4% | 6.8% | +0.4 | 7.8% |
| Ille-et-Vilaine (35) | 6.1% | 6.8% | +0.7 | 6.3% |
| Isère (38) | 6.1% | 6.8% | +0.7 | 6.7% |
| Corse-du-Sud (2A) | 6.1% | 6.7% | +0.6 | 7.6% |
| Côtes-d’Armor (22) | 6.2% | 6.7% | +0.5 | 7.1% |
| Côte-d’Or (21) | 5.9% | 6.6% | +0.7 | 6.6% |
| Loire-Atlantique (44) | 5.9% | 6.6% | +0.7 | 6.7% |
| Paris (75) | 6.0% | 6.6% | +0.6 | 6.3% |
| Gers (32) | 5.7% | 6.5% | +0.8 | 6.2% |
| Morbihan (56) | 5.8% | 6.4% | +0.6 | 7.0% |
| Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) | 5.9% | 6.4% | +0.5 | 6.8% |
| Ain (01) | 5.6% | 6.3% | +0.7 | 6.0% |
| Corrèze (19) | 5.9% | 6.3% | +0.4 | 6.6% |
| Deux-Sèvres (79) | 5.6% | 6.3% | +0.7 | 6.0% |
| Haute-Savoie (74) | 5.7% | 6.2% | +0.5 | 6.0% |
| Vendée (85) | 5.5% | 6.2% | +0.7 | 6.3% |
| Jura (39) | 5.6% | 6.1% | +0.5 | 6.0% |
| Savoie (73) | 5.6% | 6.1% | +0.5 | 6.2% |
| Haute-Loire (43) | 5.6% | 6.0% | +0.4 | 6.5% |
| Aveyron (12) | 5.5% | 5.9% | +0.4 | 6.3% |
| Mayenne (53) | 5.4% | 5.8% | +0.4 | 5.6% |
| Manche (50) | 5.3% | 5.7% | +0.4 | 6.1% |
| Lozère (48) | 4.7% | 5.0% | +0.3 | 5.2% |
| Cantal (15) | 4.5% | 4.8% | +0.3 | 4.8% |
What a localised rate counts
It counts the unemployed in the ILO sense. The rate is the share of the labour force, the employed plus the unemployed, who are without work, available and actively looking. It is not the count of jobseekers registered at France Travail, which follows its own rules and its own calendar.
It counts residents. INSEE estimates each département’s rate for the people who live there, combining the national Labour Force Survey with local administrative data. A worker who lives in one département and works in another is counted where they live.
And every change is in points. A rise from 7.3% to 8.1% is 0.8 percentage points, not 0.8%. The latest quarter is semi-final in INSEE’s terms and may still be revised.
- ILO UNEMPLOYMENT, not registered jobseekers. The rate counts people without work, available to start and actively looking, as a share of the labour force, the employed plus the unemployed. It is not the number of people registered at France Travail, which is a different count with different rules.
- WHERE PEOPLE LIVE, not where they work. INSEE estimates each département’s rate for its residents, combining the national Labour Force Survey with local administrative data. A resident of Seine-Saint-Denis who works in Paris counts in Seine-Saint-Denis.
- POINTS, NOT PER CENT, and the same season. Every change here is the second quarter of 2026 against the second quarter of 2025, on the seasonally adjusted series, and a change in a rate is in percentage points: 7.3% to 8.1% is 0.8 points.
So the 96 out of 96 does not say that jobs were lost in every département, or that more people signed on at France Travail: it says that in the second quarter of 2026, in every département of mainland France, a larger share of the residents in the labour force were without work and looking than a year earlier.
One rate, estimated the same way for every département, and a reading that forgets what it counts says what the source does not.
What these rates do not say
They name no cause. Tariffs, the public budget, interest rates, artificial intelligence and the reform of unemployment insurance have all been offered to explain a rising rate, and none of them is measured here.
They say nothing about jobs lost, about openings or about hiring, and nothing about pay. A rising rate can come from more people looking as well as from fewer in work, and the localised rates do not separate the two.
They forecast nothing, and they cover mainland France. In the overseas départements the year went both ways: Guyane rose from 17.0% to 20.4% and La Réunion from 15.4% to 18.8%, while Guadeloupe and Martinique fell. Mayotte is not in the series.
