French Unemployment Insurance Contributions 2026: Employer Rates, Bonus-Malus & Obligations

Unemployment insurance (assurance chomage) is a French social protection system that compensates employees who involuntarily lose their jobs. It is financed through contributions levied on gross salaries of employees, borne jointly by the employer and the employee.

In 2026, the unemployment insurance system continues to operate under the rules introduced by the 2021 reform and its subsequent developments, including the maintenance of the bonus-malus system on employer contributions for certain sectors.

This complete guide explains all the rules applicable to employers in 2026: contribution rates, modulation, bonus-malus, filing obligations and exemptions.

Who Funds Unemployment Insurance?

Unemployment insurance is funded by:

• Employer contributions (employer share);
• Employee contributions (employee share);
• State contributions in the event of a scheme deficit (managed by UNEDIC).

Important: Unlike health insurance and pension contributions, unemployment insurance does not cover self-employed workers (TNS), civil servants or portage salarial workers (except under specific agreements). It covers only private sector employees and certain contractual staff.

Standard Rates

For standard employment contracts (CDI, CDD, part-time):

PASS 2026: 47,100 € → 4 PASS cap = 188,400 €/year.

Note: Above 4 PASS (i.e., annual remuneration exceeding 188,400 €), no unemployment contribution is due on the portion exceeding this threshold.

Additional Employer Contribution (CPS) for Short-Term CDD Contracts

An additional employer contribution applies to CDD contracts shorter than 3 months (excluding replacement CDDs):

This contribution aims to discourage excessive use of very short-term CDDs and to fund the additional unemployment risk they generate.

Principle of the Bonus-Malus

Introduced by the 2021 reform and maintained in 2026, the bonus-malus modulates the employer contribution rate based on the company's separation rate (ratio between the number of contract endings leading to registration with France Travail and the company's average workforce).

Sectors Affected

The bonus-malus applies to sectors with naturally high separation rates. In 2026, the 7 major sectors concerned are determined by decree (including: accommodation and catering, transport, warehousing, food manufacturing, water and gas distribution, other extractive industries, wood-paper-printing).

Calculating the Bonus or Malus

The employer contribution rate (normally 4.05%) is modulated between a floor and a ceiling:

The company is rated based on its separation rate compared to other companies in the same sector. The bonus-malus rate notification is sent each year by URSSAF.

Potential impact: For a company with 100 employees and an average salary of 30,000 €, the difference between the floor rate (2.50%) and the ceiling rate (8.00%) represents (8% - 2.5%) × 3,000,000 € payroll = 165,000 euros difference in annual contributions.

Recently Created Companies

Self-employed workers who create or take over a business and hire employees may benefit from temporary contribution exemptions under employment aid and business creation schemes.

Exemptions in Certain Geographic Areas

Unemployment contribution exemptions apply in the same areas as for other social charges:

• ZFU (Urban Free Zones): full exemption for the first years;
• ZRR (Rural Revitalization Zones): exemption by vote;
• Employment Revitalization Basins (BER);
• Priority Development Zones (ZDP) in the overseas departments.

Specific Exempt Cases

• Apprenticeship contracts: employer contribution exempt for companies with fewer than 11 employees;
• Employees aged 70 and over: possible exemption under certain conditions.

Payment of Unemployment Contributions

Unemployment contributions are included in the monthly social contributions paid to URSSAF, at the same time as health, pension and other contributions. They are paid simultaneously with the filing of the monthly DSN.

Declaration in the DSN

Unemployment contributions are automatically calculated and declared in the DSN by the payroll software, based on the remuneration data entered. The employer does not need to take any specific action outside of the monthly payroll process.

The employee contribution of 2.40% is deducted from the employee's gross salary and subtracted from their net pay. It appears on the payslip in the section "Assurance chomage — part salariale" (Unemployment insurance — employee share).

Note: Entertainment industry freelancers (intermittents du spectacle) have a specific regime with different rates.

• Standard rate: 4.05% employer + 2.40% employee = 6.45% on gross salaries up to 4 PASS;
• An additional surcharge of 1.5% to 4.5% applies to CDD contracts shorter than 3 months;
• The bonus-malus modulates the employer rate between 2.50% and 8.00% in the 7 targeted sectors;
• Unemployment contributions are paid with other URSSAF contributions via the DSN;
• Exemptions exist in certain zones (ZFU, ZRR) and for certain contract types.

(Sources: Service-Public.fr assurance chomage, UNEDIC, urssaf.fr contributions, Legifrance C. trav. L5422-1)