Labor market: Wage employment is dominant
Wage employment remains the most widespread status among the labor force. More than half of the force is made up of wage-earners (52.6% in 2022 compared to 51.8% a year earlier). The self-employed represent 30.3% in 2022, having increased from the year before. Employers represent barely 2.1%. In detail, the most practiced professions are those of craftsmen and skilled workers in craft trades (19.6%).
Added to this are the professions of workers and laborers in agriculture and fishing (17.8%) and those of non-agricultural laborers, handlers, and workers in small trades (16.5%). Nearly half of wage-earners (48.8%) have a contract formalizing their relationship with employers. This share is 62.3% among women versus 45.3% among men. The lowest rates of contracting are recorded in the construction (18.3%) and agriculture, forestry, and fishing (20%) sectors. In industry and services, the contracting rate is 61.6% and 60.6%, respectively. Of the entire population of employed workers, 12.8% are in unpaid employment. This is especially truer in rural areas (27.8%) than in urban settings (2.5%). The share of people with no diploma in unpaid employment is 16.9% versus 11.5% for those with an average degree and 2.8% for those with a higher degree.
With regard to the level of education of this population, a little more than one half of it have no degree (51.2%), while 31.8% have a degree of an average level and 17% a degree of a higher level. Per sector, the share of employed workers with a higher education degree is 28.8% in services, 17.7% in industry, including crafts, and 7.2% in construction. In terms of social protection, more than one quarter of the labor force in 2022 (26.5%) benefit from job-related medical coverage. This concerns 38.3% of the labor force in cities and 9.4% in rural areas. The highest rates of medical coverage are recorded among the labor force working in the industry sector, including crafts with 46.3%, followed by the members of the labor force working in the sector of services (37.9%), construction (12.4%), and agriculture, forestry, and fishing (5.4%). The correlation between the degree level and the share of working people affiliated to a medical coverage scheme is clearly established. The proportion of people with medical coverage goes from 11.8% among those with no degree to 72.2% among those with a higher degree. Among employees, just less than one half (46.7%) have medical coverage provided by the employer. For the self-employed, this share is 5.5%. In terms of retirement, 1 in 4 working people is affiliated to a retirement system. The coverage rate is higher among women than men, with 30.6% and 24.5% respectively.
M.A.M.
