In June 2023, the association of start-ups and funds France Digitale estimated in a study that French start-ups would be able to carry out at least 50,000 additional recruitments in the following twelve months in view of their cash flow. A bet met, according to the 2024 barometer of the economic and social performance of start-ups unveiled on Wednesday, July 11 by the same association and the EY firm.
Au 1is June 2024, French start-ups represented 450,000 direct jobs, compared to 400,000 a year earlier. This increase comes in a context of growth of the ecosystem with 3,500 additional start-ups identified by France Digital in one year, for a total now brought to 15,000 start-ups in the country.
65,000 jobs in industry
Software is the largest employment sector with 131,000 professionals, ahead of services with 70,000 jobs and industry with 65,000 jobs. Taking into account indirect jobs, France Digitale estimates that around 200,000 jobs were generated by the ecosystem in one year. Enough to bring the number of jobs dependent on the good health of start-ups to 1.3 million.
If the last twelve months have been “under the sign of job creation”, the coming months “look more delicate”, indicates the study. French start-ups should only create 40,000 direct jobs by the summer of 2025, according to the barometer.
To obtain employment figures, France Digitale relies on its database of 15,000 start-ups. “We are able to quantify the additional job creation from fundraising based on past observations,” explains Marianne Tordeux-Bitker, the association’s director of public affairs. The study also includes the analysis of a sample of around 550 start-ups questioned by the association and EY. Thus, 61% of start-ups plan to recruit fewer than 11 people in the coming months, while nearly 20% plan to recruit between 11 and 50 and 11% plan not to change their payroll. The most sought-after profiles are IT developers and salespeople.
Raising funds, the number one challenge of the moment
“The slowdown in fundraising requires rationalizing costs, particularly human costs,” the barometer points out to explain the announced drop in job creation. In fact, nearly a third of start-ups cite raising funds as their number one challenge in the coming months, while 30% mention contracting with clients. On the other hand, recruitment difficulties are mentioned as the main challenge by only 13% of start-ups, “because the job market is less tight or because start-ups are revising their recruitment plans downwards,” the study suggests.
In this context, French start-ups are focusing on the search for short- or medium-term profitability, limiting external costs, protecting margins and accelerating the search for turnover. In 2023, the French start-ups surveyed by France Digitale and EY also achieved nearly 10 billion euros in turnover, up 27% compared to 2022.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
