Private payroll employment in France fell 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, or 19,300 jobs, to 21 million in the second quarter of 2026, matching market expectations and remaining unchanged from the previous period. Compared with a year earlier, private employment was down 0.4% (-79,700 jobs), though it remained 5% (+1 million jobs) above its pre-pandemic level. Temporary employment continued to weaken, falling 1.4% (-9,700 jobs), leaving it below both its year-earlier level (-1.9%) and its pre-pandemic level (-10.4%). Excluding temporary work, employment trends were mixed across sectors. Jobs in agriculture declined 0.8% (-2,500 jobs), industry shed 0.1% (-3,200 jobs), while the construction contracted 0.4% (-6,100 jobs). Meanwhile, employment in both market services and non-market services excluding temporary work was stable. Despite the recent slowdown, France's private payroll employment remains well above pre-pandemic levels, standing 5% (+1 million jobs) higher than at the end of 2019.