2023-06-05 07:05:29
A few days, this Wednesday, from the presentation in the Council of Ministers of the bill establishing France travail, the latest statistics on solidarity benefits show where the last lock to be broken is located to achieve full employment, the cardinal objective of ‘Emmanuel Macron by 2027: beneficiaries of the active solidarity income, the RSA.
From these data published at the end of last week by DREES, the statistical service of the Ministry of Solidarity and Health, it appears that the number of RSA beneficiaries has not changed since May 2017, at 1.9 million. After a moderate increase during the Covid, a roughly equivalent drop has been observed since.
Even if, in relation to the working population, the trend is slightly down, this stagnation in absolute value contrasts with the decline in the number of unemployed, whether measured by INSEE using the ILO definition or by employment with the number of registered in category A (without activity): they fell by 663,000 and 737,000 respectively over the period.
hard core
The fall in unemployment first benefits people close to the labor market, recalls Eric Heyer, economist at the OFCE. Remains the hard core, structural unemployment, a little incompressible, in any case not without active policy. Not that all RSA beneficiaries are not working: out of 100 recipients at the end of 2018, 39 were employed the following year, at least for part of the year, again according to the Drees. Except that these jobs are very precarious. The reason, as the Court of Auditors had already pointed out: those concerned are too often left to their own devices.
The High Commissioner for Employment and Business Commitment, Thibaut Guilluy, sees this as confirmation of the merits of the France travail project to reorganize all the actors responsible for employment and integration. More specifically, the support component for RSA beneficiaries experienced in around twenty departments. “Without a proactive approach to help them, as is the case for the long-term unemployed registered with Pôle Emploi, RSA beneficiaries have very little chance of finding a job spontaneously,” he defends.
For the record, the reform provides in particular that anyone looking for a job is registered with France travail (new name of Pôle emploi). The bet is bold and courageous politically because there are nearly 2 million additional people who could swell the operator’s files, RSA recipients, disabled or even young people.
Reinforcement of advisers to the key, all will benefit from support adapted to their social and professional situation within the framework of a contract of reciprocal commitments. “The new contract will specify the actions to be carried out with the person so that he finds a job or the content of the 15 to 20 hours if necessary for intensive support, but also the possible sanctions if he does not respect his share”, has he explained in mid-April during the presentation of the preconfiguration report.
Political discourse not so clear
The 15 to 20 hours of weekly activity? The debate on the conditionality of the payment of the RSA to their respect is likely to rebound during the examination of the bill in Parliament. On the one hand, those who campaign for this form of incentive, on the other hand those who consider that the remoteness from the labor market is such that it is useless.
Totally “abstrusive” debate, judges Thibaut Guilluy since the text does not provide for this conditionality. The project requires signing a contract of engagement, training, meeting appointments with an adviser, not necessarily returning to work, abounds Eric Heyer, even if the political discourse is not so clear.
Immersion in companies or training with a job behind show very good results for people close to the labor market. For the others, “we are in the long term. I believe more in subsidized contracts, ”he adds.
Former director of the cabinet of the former Minister of Labour, Muriel Pénicaud, and now a consultant, Antoine Foucher puts forward an additional solution for these groups (or part of them): a hiring bonus (like the that for apprentices) and covering training costs. “The recruitment difficulties are such that companies would be ready to hire RSA beneficiaries, not out of philanthropy but because they have no choice,” he believes.
France travail: first protocol with the Pays de la Loire Region
After the experiments for the reform of support for RSA beneficiaries in around twenty departments, the prefiguration of France travail continues to be put in place. The State has signed a protocol with the Pays de la Loire region centered on professional training and assistance to recruiting companies. A protocol with the Hauts-de-France region will follow on June 8.
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