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SURPRISINGLY THE SECOND LOWEST RATE, AFTER PARIS, IS IN OCCITANIE, THE LATEST DATA SHOWS The unemployment rate remained high in the south and north-east of France during the last three
months of 2024, newly released official data shows. The average unemployment rate was 7.3% nationally, but higher in three regions: Hauts-de-France, Occitanie (8.7%), and Provence-Alpes-Côte
d'Azur (7.7%), according to data from state statistics agency Insee. The 7.3% rate represents a drop of 0.1% from the previous quarter. In the overseas regions, the rate is
significantly higher, ranging from 13.5% in Martinique to 16.8% in Réunion. The unemployment rate was lowest in Pays de la Loire and Brittany (5.9%), where all departments are below the
national average. Read more: How unemployment benefit rules are changing in France from April 1, 2025 Some regions, such as Île-de-France or Occitanie, have highly mixed results. In
Ile-de-France, the average rate of 7% is lower than the national average thanks to the low unemployment in Paris (5.7%) and Hauts-de-Seine (6.1%), but far higher in Seine-Saint-Denis
(10.2%). The contrast is even greater in Occitanie, where Lozère, has the second-lowest unemployment rate in France (4.6%), and Pyrénées-Orientales has the highest unemployment rate in
mainland France (12.1%). UNEMPLOYMENT IN FRANCE IN Q4 2024