Le marché du travail dans la crise : un cadrage statistique

The economic crisis of 2008-2009, the most important that France knew since the Second world war, had a significant impact on the employment situation but, in relation with the fall of the production, the observed destructions of jobs were less large this time than during the recession of 1992-1993. The adaptation was carried out first of all by measurements of external flexibility, through in particular a drastic reduction of the interim activity. The firms then resorted to measurements of internal flexibility relating to the working time, in particular by using in a rather massive way the system of layoffs. Lastly, they could reduce volume of internal employment, but with less serious consequences for the stable contract holders. The cost of the crisis thus was largely supported by the least skilled and youngest fringe of the labour force, the same which knows more the precarious employment, the underemployment and the recurrent unemployment. Moreover, one observes a degradation of the quality of the new jobs, concerning both the status of employment and the working time. JEL Classification: E23, E24, E32, J21, J22, J24, J41, J62, J63, J64, J68.