Outlook. The year 2024 was rich for the France Travail Chaumont teams, who prepared for the new law which came into force on January 2. Government swell, absence of state budget and economic prospects for businesses and communities. Balance sheet.
Emmanuel Jacob has headed the France Travail agency in Chaumont for more than twenty years, which means he knows his subject. Regarding the late 2024, the director is satisfied: “2024 was a good year in terms of employment. The Chaumont basin remains stable with an unemployment rate of 5.6% when the State declares full employment at 5%. All sectors of the Chaumont basin are recruiting: health, industry, transport, tertiary, logistics, commerce… And we support them. Finding the workforce and resources to operate is the key to employment and the local economy. Especially since the people here are attached to their territory. We are trying to do something hand-in-hand for applicants and recruiters, to promote good economic health, otherwise the system is dead in the bud.”
“We try to do something hand-made for applicants and recruiters.”
A vast project if ever there was one when we know that the main mission of France Travail is to guide people far from employment, in difficulty, who have a real need for support. The full employment law which came into force on January 2, 2025 will swell the ranks, since all RSA beneficiaries will be registered with France Travail and required to work an average of 15 hours per week as part of reciprocal obligations with the organization (at the end of 2024, France Travail Chaumont counted 20% of registered beneficiaries of Active Solidarity Income).
We no longer say seekers but destitute
The focus has changed in the terminology, we no longer say “job seeker” but “deprived”, which would justify a strengthening of state requirements to compensate for the lack, and put aside the notion of choice, or of own initiative. Emmanuel Jacob is unable at the start of the year to draw up clear perspectives, nothing being really in place yet: “It is a law, a contract of engagement, which is managed by the State (the Prefecture), the Departmental Council (which manages RSA beneficiaries), Regional Council if necessary, and us. The local committees have not yet been formed, so I do not yet have the slightest idea of the number of additional registrants to come, nor of the clear terms of the weekly compensation requested from the beneficiaries. »
A counterpart to the RSA
Because that's what it is about, a counterpart to the monthly compensation received, which can materialize in several ways: service in a company, simple immersion (internships), or steps for professional training. Also note that these obligations are now mandatory for all members of the household concerned, not just the beneficiary himself. “There is no point in shouting before it hurts, we will know the additional staff and costs over time. The local committees will be decisive, our teams have been preparing for several months. »
In the meantime, Emmanuel Jacob recalls that, if the employment situation is currently good and stable for Chaumont, the uncontrollable French economic situation forces figures to be delivered “with a wet little finger”, that remain individuals shattered by life not employable, and that he expects from this law multiple partnership bridges to pool support solutions: “Our doors are open, and I hope for outstretched hands for 2025.”
Elise Sylvestre
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