HAUTE-NORMANDIE - Employment
In 2001 the activity rate of people between 15 and 65 years old (54.9%) was roughly the same level as the average for metropolitan France. The activity rate for 15 to 24 years old is jointly the second lowest with Languedoc-Roussillon: 27.1%. The activity rate for men and women aged 25 and over is over the average for metropolitan France. For women aged 15 to 24 the activity rate (20.9%) is the second lowest of all the regions of metropolitan France, after Languedoc-Roussillon.
Between 1996 and 2001 the annual average growth rate of employment in Upper Normandy was lower (1.3%) than for the nation as a whole. Whereas, the annual average growth rate of employees in the region was 1.7%, the number of self-employed was -2.0%. The share of self-employed has fallen from 8.9% in 1996 to 7.6% in 2001. This is also reflected in the low number of craftsmen in the region. In 2000 there were 109 craftsmen per 10 000 inhabitants, compared to the national average of 137. 33% of the region?s craftsmen work in transport, repairs and other services.
The high level of industrial employment is explained by the strong presence of industrial activities in the region. On top of the manufacturing tradition, which dates back to the eighteenth century and is based on textiles, chemicals and shipbuilding, came the 1960s wave of decentralised economic activities from the Paris region in the automobile, electronics and Pharmaceuticals branches. The industrial fabric is comprehensive and diversified. Over the past three decades the industrial sector was forced to change with the times at the cost of major cutbacks in jobs. Over the period 1990 to 1999 the share of employment in industry in the region dropped 5 points and in 1999 only accounted for 23.5% of total employment in Upper Normandy. But it remains considerably higher than at national level. At the beginning of 2001, the share of employment in industry continued to fall (22.7% of all employment in Upper Normandy), but it was several points higher than the national average (17.5%) and the average for the provinces (19.3%). Between 1996 and 2001, employment in industry decreased by 0.6% per year.
At the beginning of 2001, most employees of the industrial sector worked in the production of intermediate goods (49%). 21% worked in the production of capital goods and 17% for the production of consumer goods. The car industry offered a fairly high proportion of jobs with 13% of all employees in industry.
People working in the industrial sector of Upper Normandy tend to be employed by medium to large size companies. In 2001 the number of medium-sized companies (employing between 100 and 499 people) accounted for 23.6% of all companies working in industry in 2001, and employed 46.1% of all employees working in the industrial sector in Upper Normandy. Large establishments employing more than 500 people accounted for 3.6% of all industrial establishments of the region, and employed 26.3% of all employees working in the industrial sector. Small companies only employed 12% of the region?s industrial workforce.
Employment in the construction sector accounted for 6.3% of all employees in industry; this is on a par with the average for the provinces as a whole. The proportion of employees working in agriculture (2.8%) is lower than the average for the provinces.
The 1980s saw the collapse of such predominantly male bastions of the regional economy as shipbuilding. The emergence of new services activities attracted a female workforce, giving women the opportunity to enter the labour market. The service sector however still offers proportionally fewer jobs in the region than for the provinces as a whole. At the beginning 2001 68.2% of jobs were in the services sector. Employment in services increased by an annual average of 2.4% between 1996 and 2001, compared to 2.5% per year for the provinces as whole.
In the services sector, the main feature distinguishing the region is its two international ports, Rouen and Le Havre. These ports have generated a large number of jobs in the services sector (shipowners, forwarding agents, land and sea transport, etc.). In 2000 Upper Normandy has the highest proportion of employees working in the transport sector: 8.8%. The second most important market services sector in term of employment in the region is business services (17.9%). Compared to the average for the provinces there are proportionally fewer employees working in non-market services.
A persistently high level of unemployment
Whereas the situation on the labour market had been healthy in the mid-1970s, the beginning of the 1980s brought a sudden change, as the unemployment rate shot up, reaching a peak in 1987. Competition from countries where production costs are low led to large numbers of jobs being shed in two traditional branches, textiles and shipbuilding. In the car industry, mechanical engineering and electronics, the modernisation of the means of production resulted in staff cutbacks. The strong demographic pressure and low increase in employment opportunities have produced a regional unemployment rate that is above the national average. 1990 the regional unemployment rate was 10.8%, whereas the national average was 9%.
Between 1990 and 1999 10 400 new jobs were created in Upper Normandy to attain nearly 665 000 jobs in 1999. This increase is significantly lower than the increase in the working population over the same period. As a result unemployment increased strongly until 1997 before regressing to stand at 9.9% in December 2001. The difference with the average for metropolitan France (1 percentage point higher in the region) is tending to reduce. As well as new arrivals of youngsters on the job market, the increase in unemployment comes mainly from job losses in agriculture (- 9 400) and especially in industry (-31 200) that have not been sufficiently compensated for by the creation of new jobs in the tertiary sector (+ 58 000) and the building trade.
In June 2002 the unemployment rate remained at 9.9%, whereas for metropolitan France as a whole the unemployment rate was 9.0% in June 2002. Comparing the situation with June 1996, the decrease in the unemployment rate in Upper Normandy was more pronounced (-4.2%) than for metropolitan France a whole (-3.1%).
According to the situation at the end of 2001 96 200 people were looking for a job, this number being divided equally between men and women. 24% of those seeking employment were under 25, this is above the national average (19.8%). The proportion of people who have looking for a job for more than one year is also above the national average: 34% while the national average was 31.7%. For 15 to 24 year olds the proportion was also higher: 18% while the national average was 15.4%.
High wages and salaries
Upper Normandy stands out among the French provincial regions for its high average wage level. This situation can be explained by the economic structure of the region, and in particular by the fact that the average wages in some of the strongest sectors of the region's industry - energy, chemicals and mechanical engineering - are relatively high. The staff required to work in these activities are mainly technicians and skilled workers whose abilities and stresses are reflected in the levels of remuneration. Upper Normandy has an above average proportion of skilled manual workers among its total workforce: 27% against 22% for the nation as a whole.
The average net wage paid in 1999 by private and semi-public sector employers in Upper Normandy was 17 260 Euro per year. This puts Upper Normandy fifth on the national scale and third from the top of the table of the provinces (i.e. excluding the Île-de-France). The wage difference between men and women is the third highest in the provinces. In 1999 women?s average net wage was 4 874 Euro lower than men?s.
With a gross disposable income per inhabitant of 13 130 Euro in 1997, inhabitants of Upper Normandy were 3% less well off in 1997 compared to the national average.
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