Persons in employment, July 2023

Key statistics:

• 0.3% fewer persons in employment than in the previous month;

• 0.3% decrease in the number of employees and 0.2% increase in the number of self-employed compared to the previous month;

• 4.8% of persons in employment absent from work due to parental care, maternity leave or long-term sick leave.

The record number of self-employed

The number of persons in employment fell to around 933,000, or by 0.3% compared to the previous month. The number of persons in paid employment fell by around 2,600 or 0.3%, while the number of self-employed persons increased slightly by just over 200 or 0.2%. The number of self-employed persons went up for the sixth consecutive month, reaching the highest level since we have been observing register-based data on persons in employment.

The number of women in employment fell more markedly at the monthly level, by just over 1,900 or 0.5%, almost half of them in education. The number of men in employment also fell, by just under 500 or 0.1%. 

Compared to the same period last year, the number of persons in employment went up by 1.2%.

Decrease in more than half of the activities

At the monthly level, the number of persons in employment increased in eight and decreased in 12 activities. The largest increases were recorded in construction, up by almost 300 persons (0.4%), and in information and communication activities, up by just over 60 persons (0.2%). The biggest drop was recorded in education (by just over 1,100 persons or 1.4%), which is usually the case in the summer months. The number of persons in employment also fell more markedly in manufacturing, by just over 600 persons or 0.3%.

More persons in employment with longer absence from work

In July, just over 44,900 persons were absent from work, representing 4.8% of all persons in employment. Of these, 15,900 were absent for parental care or maternity leave, and just under 29,000 were absent for long-term sick leave (a person is absent for more than 30 working days on the reference date). The number of persons in employment who were absent due to parental care or maternity leave was the largest in the 30–34 age group, around 5,900, of whom around 5,100 women and just under 800 men. The number of persons on long-term sick leave was the largest in the 55–59 age group, just under 6,800, half of them were women.

Looking over a longer period of time, there has been an increase in the number of persons in employment who are absent from work. While there are no significant fluctuations in the number of persons in employment who are absent due to parental care or maternity leave, there is a more marked increase in the number of persons on a long-term sick leave. At the end of 2012, there were just under 15,600 persons in employment on a long-term sick leave, rising to around 31,500 at the end of 2022. The increase is attributable to the rise in the average age of persons in employment and, after 2020, to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Tables with the latest data are available in the SiStat Database.