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The number of “working jobseeker”, that is to say those who are registered with Pôle emploi [the French public employment services] while engaging in paid activity, continues to grow. When eligible to unemployment benefits, the system of claimants can benefit from the reduced working scheme, that enables them to supplement a part of their income with benefits. This article aims toat shedding light on the diverse trajectories of these jobseekers, highlighting the different roles fulfilled de facto by this key mechanism of the unemployment insurance system which was initially conceived as a stepping stone towards employment.Optimal matching has been used to build an empirical typology of the trajectories of job seekers engaged in reduced activity, initially revealing seven faces, or seven modes of recourse to reduced activity. For two trajectories resulting from this typology, the interaction between reduced activity and solidarity payments (“active solidarity income” or RSA, work-based grants, housing benefits) was then simulated. Supplementary assistance added to income from work clearly increased the overall monthly income of the individuals studied, with a strong substitution effect of 40% to 60% between the cost of unemployment insurance and solidarity payments. The increasing prevalence of reduced working activity thus brings into question the boundary between unemployment insurance and solidarity payments.