Restaurateurs, hairdressers, builders… whatever the sector, business leaders are hard hit by unemployment. Over the first six months of the year, more than 25,000 of them have thus lost their jobs, according to a study by the Observatory of entrepreneurs, the firm Altares and the association GSC (Social guarantee for business leaders ), published by Le Parisien.
This is an increase of 36.6% over one year, which mainly concerns business leaders at the head of small structures with less than 5 employees, with a turnover of less than 500,000 euros per year. , or 9 out of 10 job losses. For entrepreneurs at the head of companies with more than 20 employees, the number of job losses doubled in the first half, over one year.
This unemployment situation occurs on average around the age of 46, once the career is well established. However, the study reveals a strong evolution among young leaders, at 40% for those under 26 and 43% for 26/30 year olds. “Which raises the question of support for these young business leaders faced with the risk of job loss”, underlines the report.
Among the sectors most affected by company liquidations, construction comes first, at 23.6%, with an increase of 50% compared to the first half of 2022. “We find [also] a lot of companies in the catering, personal services, such as hairdressers, but also retail, explains Parisian Thierry Millon, director of studies at Altares. Companies that are directly related to the consumer.” “The personal services sector – such as hairdressing or beauty care – is also weakened by the drop in household spending: 1,152 business leaders lost their professional activity” between January 1 and June 30, 2023 , an increase of 57.8%, according to the study.
Unsurprisingly, Île-de-France is the region that has lost the most entrepreneurs since the start of the year (5,468), i.e. a quarter of job losses in France. Next comes the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region (2,902 leaders), Occitanie (2,239) and New Aquitaine (2,130). According to forecasts by the Observatory, the number of unemployed business leaders could exceed the pre-pandemic threshold at the end of the year, set at 60,000 unemployed entrepreneurs.