Mobility and access to employment in Hauts-de-France

A significant proportion of unemployment stems from difficulties in linking supply and demand for employment. These difficulties can be explained in particular by the obstacles to the geographical mobility of job seekers. This is an important issue: 1 to 2.5 percentage points of the national unemployment rate would thus be linked to poor geographical matching. In analysing the obstacles to mobility within the Hauts-de-France region, characterised by a sharp contrast between the influence of the Lille metropolis and areas that combine economic and social handicaps, the Court and the regional chamber of accounts found that the offer of mobility aids was poorly known, unevenly distributed and insufficiently mobilised by those seeking employment. The social consequences of the health crisis call for more structured and coordinated policies and actions, both at national and local level. To this end, financial jurisdictions make nine recommendations.