Hardening
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According to Unédic, the compensation paid to almost one out of two beneficiaries has decreased by an average of 16% at the beginning of 2022 and the opening of rights has decreased by 20%. As expected, the main victims are temporary and fixed-term contract employees.
Fewer and fewer unemployed beneficiaries of benefits, especially among precarious workers, and a significant drop in the allowance for half of those who receive one: these, broadly speaking, are the main effects of the insurance reform adopted by the government at the end of 2021. Almost immediate effects since Unédic, the joint body that manages unemployment insurance, has been able to observe them since the first half of 2022, which it reports in a follow-up document presented to trade unions and employers’ organizations during the last bureau meeting, on 15 December, and that Publication was able to consult.
Reminder: In 2021, three important parameters of unemployment benefits were changed. In October, a new method of calculating the reference daily wage (SJR) came into force, on the basis of which the daily allowance to which Pôle Emploi members may be entitled is calculated. Then, in December, the eligibility threshold was raised from 4 months to 6 months of work done in the past 24 months. And, at the same time, a degressivity (up to 30%) of the allowance paid to the unemployed who previously received a gross salary of more than 4,500 euros was introduced.
Punitive effects
With these substantial changes, the government has explained that it wants to counter the proliferation of short-term contracts, but it also expects substantial savings, not far from 2 billion euros a year. Today
