Are more retirees over 62 really unemployed since the reform came into force?

The CGT affirms Monday that the pension reform, in force since September 2023, has led to an increase in unemployment registrations of seniors over 62 years old. Franceinfo checked the figures.

On the eve of his general policy declaration, François Bayrou continues his negotiations in order to avoid censorship from the left without losing his LR allies who are raising their voices. At the heart of the discussions, again and again, pension reform… The CGT assures that it “already wreaking havoc”. Franceinfo consulted figures from Dares – the statistical body of the Ministry of Labor – to take stock.

Sophie Binet, general secretary of the CGT, once again called on Franceinfo on Monday January 13 to block the pension reform. “We have the figures for the increase in the number of unemployed registered with Pôle emploi. Those over 62 have already increased by 50% since the implementation of this reform”she assured.

In reality, it is not the number of unemployed people over 62 that has increased, but that of unemployed people aged 62, exactly. If we look at the Dares figures, and if we only talk about this section, it is correct to say that they are much more numerous: at the end of 2024, there were 15,000 unemployed people aged 62 more than in spring 2023. Knowing that the reform came into force on September 1, 2023. This represents an increase of almost 47%, not far from the figure put forward by the CGT.

Clearly, with this reform, thousands of seniors must wait a few more months to retire. There are therefore more people registered as unemployed.

The increase is not confirmed in other age groups, those aged 63, 64 and 65 and over. There are even slightly fewer of these seniors registered as unemployed since the reform came into force. And for good reason, they are not yet affected by the reform: the increase in the retirement age to 64 must come into force gradually until 2030.

To summarize – and without mentioning other possible situations -: with the reform, seniors aged 62 who could have retired have, for some, remained in their company, and for either stayed or registered as unemployed.