Unemployment: employment of disabled people “holds up” in 2024

Good news on the employment front. With 206,000 people having found work by 2024, employment for people with disabilities is "holding up" in France despite the economic climate, the Cap emploi network, a network specializing in supporting these groups, announced on Thursday, May 22.

In 2024, 206,774 people with disabilities who received support from Cap emploi and France Travail returned to work – a figure that was virtually unchanged from 2023 (207,275), according to Cap emploi's annual report. Over the same period, 26,684 people were kept in employment, a 9% increase over one year.

The number of long-term job seekers with disabilities, on the other hand, increased by 7.6% to reach 201,788 in 2024, compared to 183,267 in 2023, he said. "People with disabilities are more affected by the deterioration of the labor market," stressed Thibaut Guilluy, Director General of France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) during the presentation of the 2024 figures to the press.

But employment is "holding up" , notably thanks to "better collective organisation and better collective efficiency in support" , he added, highlighting the merger between France Travail and Cap Emploi in 2022, allowing people with disabilities to have access to a single place to carry out their procedures .

The main objective remains to "avoid professional disengagement and contract terminations" , underlined Marlène Cappelle, general delegate of Cheops, the national network of Cap Emploi, hence "the importance of acting upstream" to offer solutions to the company.

These solutions can range from "the physical layout of the workstation" to an "organizational approach" and the implementation of "human assistance," she explained. If there is no solution that allows the person to remain in their company or in employment, support is provided to help them with their departure from the company, she added.

In France, between 5.7 million and 18.2 million people aged five and over have a disability, ranging from functional limitations to very serious pathologies, according to the latest official figures published in November.