Labour market research: France
France has the largest labour market in the research scope. The unit tracks sectoral scarcity, regional hiring timelines and salary movement across metropolitan France.
France's labour market combines a historically high unemployment rate in national statistics with acute scarcity in specific sectors: IT, healthcare, skilled trades and hospitality have had unfilled vacancies for years.
IPMERC Research covers metropolitan France with a focus on sectors where scarcity is structural. Fieldwork is conducted in French. The methodology mirrors the Dutch and Belgian monitors for cross-country comparability.
All data is published openly under the GDPR statistical research exemption. No individual response is traceable.
Sectors under study.
What the research unit monitors in France.
Technology and digital
Paris, Lyon, Toulouse and Nantes are the main tech hubs. Developer scarcity is concentrated in senior and lead roles. The monitor tracks contract rates (freelance/portage salarial) alongside permanent salaries.
Healthcare
Hospital staff, GPs in rural areas, and elderly care. France's numerus clausus reform is slowly expanding the physician pipeline, but shortages in nursing and specialist care persist.
Skilled trades and industry
Electricians, welders, CNC operators and maintenance technicians. Reindustrialisation targets and the energy transition drive demand. The research tracks apprenticeship completion rates and employer competition for graduates.
Hospitality and tourism
Hotels, restaurants and events. Post-pandemic labour flight from the sector created a hiring gap that still shows in the data. The monitor covers seasonal and permanent roles separately.
Recurring monitors.
Published openly after each fieldwork round. No paywall, no registration.
Sectoral scarcity monitor
Vacancies versus active candidates by sector and region. Published twice a year, with quarterly flash updates for high-scarcity sectors.
Salary and contract tracker
Median salary, contract type (CDI, CDD, freelance) and benefits by sector and seniority. The French distinction between permanent (CDI) and fixed-term (CDD) contracts is tracked separately.
Regional hiring timelines
Time-to-hire by region and sector. Ile-de-France versus the rest of France is the primary split, with Lyon, Toulouse and Nantes as secondary hubs.
Questions about this research.
Is the research conducted in French?
Yes. All surveys and interviews with French respondents are in French. Published reports are available in English and French.
Do you cover overseas territories?
The current scope is metropolitan France. Overseas territories (DOM-TOM) may be added in future editions.
How does the CDI/CDD split show up in the data?
Contract type is a tracked variable. Salary, time-to-hire and scarcity are reported for permanent (CDI) and fixed-term (CDD) roles separately.
Research in other countries.
The same methodology, comparable data.