All the unemployed will be impacted by a new rule on their compensation.
It is a blow for 6 million French people. While Tuesday, April 1, 2025 will mark the increase in several social assistance, starting with active solidarity income (RSA), it will also be synonymous with bad news for almost 10% of the population. And it is not a bad joke worthy of the traditional April fish.
Announced for several weeks, this change has brought up all the unemployed, whatever their age, their journey or even their last remuneration. From April 1, the amount of the allowance paid under unemployment, called a return to employment (ARE), will indeed decrease.
As part of the budgetary savings that the latest governments have wished to set up, a cup was made in the France Work budget, the new employment name, to the detriment of unemployed people.
So far, an unemployed person received an allowance corresponding to a daily amount, multiplied by the number of days of the month. Thus, in January, it affected the daily amount, 28 times in February, etc. but now, the calculation method differs.
From this month of April, the unemployed will always receive the same amount, every month, whatever the number of days it contains. If the public authorities greet this smoothing allowing to stop variations according to the number of days, this new calculation is the disadvantage of beneficiaries since the rule has been set at 30 days per month, even for the months which count 31.
Thus, a person who will spend a full year unemployed between April 2025 and April 2026 will lose five days of allowances over the year (12 months x 30 days). For an average daily allowance of 42 euros gross (French work figures), this represents a loss of 210 euros in the annual budget of the person. Which is not trivial when you know the precariousness that unemployment entails.
This new rule will apply to new unemployed as well as people who are already unemployed. This will be in force for at least four years, until December 31, 2028.