Economy · Dares CVS-CJO · firms with 10+ employees · 2003-T2 → 2026-T1. Sector ranking: 2025-T4.

Job vacancies: 266 569 posts in 2026 Q1, after a peak of 393 908 in 2022 Q4

Where is hiring tight in France? 266 569 vacancies in 2026 Q1, from the post-Covid peak to sector normalization.

National view: quarterly job vacancies

Job vacancies · national total and tight sectors

Data details

Job vacancies · 2026-T1

266 569

Rate 1.67% · firms 10+ employees · Dares CVS-CJO

Highest rate · 2025-T4

2.54 %

Health & education

Year-on-year (same quarter)

-11.6 %

2026-T1 vs same quarter prior year

Series peak · 2022-T4

393 908

Highest stock since 2003

Key facts

  • In 2026 Q1, France reports 266 569 job vacancies (firms with 10+ employees), national rate 1.67%.
  • Series peak: 393 908 posts in 2022 Q4.
  • Year-on-year change (same quarter): -11.6%.
  • Tightest sector in 2025 Q4: Health & education (2.54%).

Hiring tension: sectors and quarterly dynamics

Job vacancies count positions that are hard to fill or remain unfilled in firms with 10+ employees. Published quarterly by Dares as a CVS-CJO series (seasonally and working-day adjusted), they track labour-market tension by sector.

Sectors · Sector tensions

Sector tensions

"Health & education lead"

The vacancy rate is unfilled jobs divided by salaried employment. In Q4 2025, education, health and social work posted the highest rate (2.54%), ahead of arts, entertainment and recreation (2.11%) and information & communication (1.94%).

These sector gaps reflect structural skills bottlenecks, not only the national cycle.

Quarters · Quarterly dynamics

Quarterly dynamics

"2022 peak, easing since 2023"

National vacancies peaked at 393,908 in Q4 2022 (2.48% rate), after the post-Covid rebound.

Since 2023 the series has cooled: 266,569 jobs in Q1 2026 (−11.6% year-on-year), a partial easing without returning to pre-crisis levels (≈ 220,000 in 2019).

Why multiple series?

Why do health and education stay tight while the national total falls? Retirements, long training pipelines and sustained social demand stack up in these sectors. The macro series hides occupation-level shortages it cannot disaggregate.

Analogy: a 2.5% rate means roughly 25 posts per 1,000 remain hard to fill, well above typical frictional levels (≈ 1.5% in calm periods).

What this is not

  • National and sector macro data only — no regional map in this dataset.
  • No « green jobs » label without a dedicated NAF/ISCO crosswalk.
  • CVS-CJO series: compare cautiously with raw levels or other surveys.

Job vacancy rate by sector · 2025 Q4

What these figures do not show

National and sector macro data (NAF A10) · firms with 10+ employees. No regional breakdown or « green jobs » split in this dataset. CVS-CJO seasonally adjusted series · quarterly release with lag (sector detail through 2025 Q4).

Sources

Emplois vacants CVS-CJO trimestriellesDares · Ministère du Travail · 2026-05-29

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