Will the French spend the end-of-year holidays with low morale? According to INSEE, French household confidence deteriorated again in November. The indicator summarizing it lost another three points, in particular due to increased fears about unemployment. Indeed, household fears about the outlook for unemployment are increasing by nine points this month, with a balance of opinion of 42. A level at the highest level since May 2021.
November was marked by the announcement of site closures at Michelin and ArcelorMittal, and statements from Industry Minister Marc Ferracci, predicting that there would “probably” be other site closures in the coming weeks and coming months, with a social balance sheet numbering “in thousands of jobs”. This Wednesday, the general secretary of the CGT, Sophie Binet, warned of 250 social plans in preparation and up to 200,000 jobs at risk.
VideoAuchan and Michelin announce the elimination of thousands of jobs, employees in shock
Another area of concern for households: their financial situation. According to INSEE, this should deteriorate over the coming months. An opinion which should encourage households to delay major purchases, which could further slow down growth in the country. Especially since households are also starting to fear an acceleration in prices in the next twelve months. As a result, the long-term outlook is also poor with estimates that their standard of living is expected to decline in the coming months.
In this context, households should turn more towards savings while waiting for better days. Households' opinion on the opportunity to save increased by one point to 38, compared to 18 on average. But there, many have already drawn on their resources and their ability to save is deteriorating slightly, according to INSEE.
