Youth unemployment, time bomb of the post-covid crisis

As the government prepares an emergency plan to revive the employment machine for people under 25, the first economic victims of the pandemic, employers and unions are multiplying the proposals.

An explosion: during confinement, the number of job seekers increased by more than a million - 843,000 in April alone (category A, which concerns those who did not work during the month). A record never reached since 1996, which cancels the good results of the government - the measures taken had succeeded in reducing this figure by 300,000 since 2017. First victims, the young people, who bear the brunt of the economic impact of the pandemic of Covid-19. The number of job seekers under the age of 25 thus jumped 29% compared to the end of February, reaching the record of 659,000. A dramatic turnaround: since December 2014, the old historic high with 583,400, the number of unemployed young people had continuously declined,

France is no exception: according to the International Labor Organization, one in six young Europeans has lost their job since the start of the epidemic and those who have kept their jobs have seen their working hours cut by around 23%. "In an economic crisis, young people are always the first affected, explains Bertrand Martinot, a specialist in the labor market, former general delegate for employment. Because the rise in unemployment is not due to massive layoffs but to the non-job creation. And first-time job seekers are directly affected by the hiring freeze or freezing. In addition, for the few jobs created, they find themselves in competition with people with more 'experience.'

Learning at risk

Same feeling for Philippe Dialynas, deputy director-general of Apec, who remains optimistic: "The crisis will certainly cause more precarious contracts," he says. We will rather offer a young person a fixed-term contract than an indefinite one. But there are reasons to hope: companies are still using our services to prepare for the recovery, a good sign. And the fundamentals are solid in certain sectors such as engineering, consulting, and business management or IT. Clearly, the demand for executive skills will restart. "

Sad observation: the coronavirus has reduced to ashes the efforts of François Hollande and then Emmanuel Macron to reduce unemployment among young people, one of the plagues of the French labor market. Starting with the radical reform of learning by the current government, a law passed in 2018, which revitalized the old system deemed archaic and ineffective. And that boosted the sector: in 2019, the number of apprenticeship contracts jumped by more than 16% to exceed the 350,000 marks, according to the Ministry of Labor. An encouraging boom is due in large part to the removal of the regions' veto power over the opening of apprenticeship training centers (CFA), which allowed companies to open their own structure. Accor, Korean, Sodexo, Schneider Electric, Safran, Groupe Nicollin,

But this very good dynamic could be curtailed: "Certainly, the ecosystem is now favorable, analyzes Christophe Catoir, the managing director of Adecco Europe, the juggernaut of the interim who recently launched two CFA in the recruitment trades - an in Paris, the other in Lyon. But the effects of the coronavirus come to seize a machine that started to run well. This is not surprising: in all recent crises like in 2008, there has been a very sharp drop in apprenticeship. Indeed, companies' need for labor is decreasing and the temptation may be strong to reduce the number of apprentices. "

Aid to companies and CFA

Christophe Catoir deplores this behavior: “For us, this is a bad calculation, because we are living in a crisis due to the stoppage for two months of the economy. But the need for skills will be strong when resuming in twelve to eighteen months. This is why the State must support companies financially to encourage them not to give up an apprenticeship. "Same tone at Medef, the first French employers' organization, which requests" the implementation of a one-off aid of 10,000 euros for all companies that recruit an apprentice before December 31, 2020, regardless of its size and level of diploma prepared by the apprentice, "according to a spokesperson.

For its part, the U2P, the Union of local businesses, whose members are fond of apprentices, fear the bankruptcy of a number of apprenticeship training centers (CFA): "With the reform of the government, these organizations are now funded up to the number of young people they train, advance Alain Griset, the president of U2P. However, if their number drops drastically, the CFA will no longer have funding to operate. Suddenly, the most fragile will have the knife under their throats and risk disappearing, which would be dramatic for the sector. This is why we are proposing to temporarily increase in 2021 the amount of the contract cost, the benchmark value used to finance the CFA. "

Extension of the RSA

The government will sort through these multiple proposals before presenting, in the coming days, a major recovery plan for employment, which includes a specific component for young people. Many suggest, like Les Républicains who presented their “alternative plan” on June 2, to exempt charges for hiring a young person for a certain period (two years for LR). The party chaired by Christian Jacob also recommends taking charge of the employment of a young person leaving school via the partial unemployment scheme and making the internship scheme more flexible with an "end-of-study contract".

Finally, the CFDT is concerned about the decline in resources for young people. The union proposes to widen the income of active solidarity (RSA) at least 25 years: “Each year, some 700,000 young people arrive on the job market, explains Inès Minin, national secretary of the central. However, with the sharp rise in unemployment, many will be on the floor and destitute. We cannot leave them on the side of the road while waiting for the recovery. Will the government, which was working on a major plan against exclusion before the crisis, resume demand from the dentist? A very expensive measure but at the height of the disaster for those under 25.

A generation of high school students sacrificed
The manifestation of joy among high school students, this May 28, at the announcement of the "reopening" of their schools ... so partial. If the pupils in the green zones can welcome from June 2 groups of 15 pupils of the same level, the others in the orange zone must indeed be satisfied with an "individual educational interview" ... In Ile-de-France, where one in five students go to school, it's already the holidays! Because the attendance obligation posted until July 4 does not hold water: the class councils must decide the orientations and assignments before June 15. "This end of the fishtail year is not very satisfactory, that's for sure," sighs Philippe Vincent, who chairs the syndicate of principals, the SNPDEN. Especially since it closes an eventful year for this "COVID generation". A year ago and in the fall, the bac reform had sparked real pilates around the old and new formula tests. As of December 5, the pension reform had taken over, with a record strike, reducing the timetables of students with grief. And since March 16, it is the coronavirus which has been right in the school program. To the point of canceling the sacrosanct final exams of the baccalaureate, obtained on the basis of continuous testing alone. Spared until then, the French oral exams in Première were canceled in their turn. For this shaken generation, the bac 2020 is more and more considered as a virtual diploma. with a record strike, reducing the schedules of the troubled students. And since March 16, it is the coronavirus which has been right in the school program. To the point of canceling the sacrosanct final exams of the baccalaureate, obtained on the basis of continuous testing alone. Spared until then, the French oral exams in Première were canceled in their turn. For this shaken generation, the bac 2020 is more and more considered as a virtual diploma. with a record strike, reducing the schedules of the troubled students. And since March 16, it is the coronavirus which has been right in the school program. To the point of canceling the sacrosanct final exams of the baccalaureate, obtained on the basis of continuous testing alone. Spared until then, the French oral exams in Première were canceled in their turn. For this shaken generation, the bac 2020 is more and more considered as a virtual diploma.