EVENING FACT What is the health of Occitanie according to INSEE?

The economic situation excites as much as it can worry the Gardois. In France, in Occitanie or in the departments, after a recovery in the previous quarter, how is employment evolving in Occitanie? And the activity? What dynamism are there in the different sectors? In short, quite a program!

It is the National Institute of Statistics and Economic StudiesINSEE for those familiar with the matter, which collects, produces and analyzes information on the French economy and society. Make way for Occitanie to take the economic temperature of the moment.

Between the end of March 2024 and the end of June 2024, salaried employment is almost stable in Occitanie (-0.1%), after a clear increase in the previous quarter. Employment is growing moderately in industry and non-market services, but is falling slightly in market services, particularly in accommodation and catering and in commerce. In Gard, activity is decreasing in construction as is household consumption.

Unemployment does not spare Gard

In construction, employment is falling for the sixth consecutive quarter and housing starts remain historically low. At the end of June 2024, Occitanie had 14,100 more employees than a year earlier (+0.6%).

On average over the second quarter of 2024, the unemployment rate stands at 8.7% of the active population in Occitania, a drop of 0.2 points compared to the first quarter.

Activity, measured by the volume of paid work, increased slightly (+0.4%) in the second quarter compared to the same period of 2023. It remains dynamic in industry but slows down in market services. Tourist attendance is decreasing in hotels compared to the second quarter of 2023 due to the decline in business tourism. Business failures are stabilizing at a level close to the pre-pandemic level.

Total salaried employment increases moderately in Haute-Garonne (+0.2%). It is in clear decline in Tarn-et-Garonne (-1.0%), Aude (-0.6%), Hautes-Pyrénées (-0.6%) and Lozère (-0.5 %). The decline is less steep in Aveyron and Tarn (-0.3%). In the other departments of Occitanie, such as Gard, employment is almost stable.

In the second quarter of 2024, temporary employment in Occitanie is stable (+0.1%) after a drop of 1.1% in the previous quarter. It is 2.1% lower than its level in the second quarter of 2023. At the national level, temporary staff decreased by 2.2% in the second quarter and by 6.4% over one year.

Over the quarter, temporary employment fell by 2.7% in construction and by 1.1% in industry. It increases by 0.5% in the tertiary sector. Over one year, temporary staff numbers fell in all major sectors by -5.8% in industry, -3.9% in construction and -1.7% in the tertiary sector.

More seniors, fewer young people?

Between the end of June 2023 and the end of June 2024, private salaried employment (excluding agriculture and private employers) increases significantly for seniors. Over one year, it is up 3.7% for those aged 55 or over (i.e. 10,300 additional jobs). It decreases by 0.4% for employees under 30 (-1,700 jobs) and by 0.3% for people aged 30 to 54 (-2,400 jobs).

Over one year, private salaried employment increased more strongly for women (+0.6%) than for men (+0.2%). This difference is partly explained by the declines in employment observed in temporary work and in construction, sectors where jobs are overwhelmingly male.

The number of fixed-term contracts decreased by 1.9% compared to the second quarter of 2023, which represents 3,200 fewer jobs. Conversely, permanent jobs are increasing: +0.7%, or 8,800 more permanent jobs. Jobs from work-study contracts also increased by +2.9% compared to a year earlier, or 2,300 more jobs.

An Olympics effect? Not with us…

In the second quarter of 2024, again and again, the unemployment rate decreased slightly in Occitanie (-0.2 points) and stood at 8.7% of the region’s active population. Over one year, the regional unemployment rate is almost stable (+0.1 point compared to the second quarter of 2023). In France excluding Mayotte, the unemployment rate follows the same trends. It stands at 7.3% of the active population.

The unemployment rate fell more sharply than the regional average in three departments in the second quarter: Gard, Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Orientales (-0.3 points).

Economic activity measured by the number of paid hours continues to progress slightly with an increase of 0.4% compared to the second quarter of 2023 after +0.5% in the first quarter.

With activity growth of 1.3% between July 2023 and July 2024, Haute-Garonne is the second department in France where activity is increasing the most after Seine-Saint-Denis, a department which benefits from activity generated by the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In Occitanie, activity is also increasing in July in the Hautes-Pyrénées (+1.0%), in Ariège (+0.7%) and to a lesser extent in the Pyrénées-Orientales (+0.4%) ). In the other departments of the region, including Gard, the volume of paid hours is decreasing compared to July 2023, in a range going from -0.1% in Gers to -1.1% for Tarn.

Tourism and business creation

In the second quarter of 2024, attendance in collective tourist accommodation excluding campsites stood at seven million nights in Occitania, slightly below its level in the second quarter of 2023 (-0.5% or less 32,000 nights).

The drop in overnight stays from resident tourists (-65,000 overnight stays) is half offset by an increase in those from non-resident customers (+33,000 overnight stays). At the national level, attendance decreases by 3.6% compared to the second quarter of 2023.

Leisure tourism is clearly increasing compared to the same period of 2023 (+5.1%). In contrast, the decline in the number of hotel nights for business tourism is confirmed with a drop of 11.6%. An assessment will be made in November on regional tourism issues.

Over this same period of the second quarter of 2024, 25,600 business creations were recorded in Occitanie. Slightly fewer businesses are being created there than in the first quarter (-0.6%), but the number of these creations remains historically high (+8.2% compared to the second quarter of 2023). In France, the situation is similar even if creations decline a little more pronounced over the quarter (-1.1%).

The use of micro-entrepreneurship continues to maintain the number of business creations at a high level in Occitanie (17,100 creations). But it marks time compared to the previous quarter (-1.6%), particularly in the information and communication sector as well as in business services.

Business failures stabilize during the second quarter of 2024 in Occitanie. Thus at the end of June 2024, the number of failures cumulative over twelve months increased by 0.6% compared to the end of March 2024. At the national level, they increased by 4.5% over this period. Compared to the end of June 2023, insolvencies are up 22% in the region and 26% in France.

In Occitania, the number of failures (5,500 in one year) is close to its pre-pandemic level (-0.6% compared to the 2010-2019 average).

According to INSEE, growth would be more dynamic (0.4%) for the third quarter. A recovery in household consumption and investment at the end of the year would result in 2024 with growth amounting to 1.1%, as in 2023.