Recruitment difficulties are by far the first obstacle to the activity of SMEs and VSEs in France, while their cash flow is at its highest, according to a barometer published Thursday by Bpifrance and the Rexecode institute.
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Almost three-quarters of the more than 600 SMEs and very small businesses that responded to a questionnaire from October 18 to 29 said they had encountered a need for recruitment in the last 12 months and, among them, four in five
"were confronted with difficulties in this process ”
, according to this quarterly study.
The first difficulty, encountered at 70%, is the absence of a candidate, far ahead of the level of qualification in relation to the proposed position (37%), the lack of experience (36%) or the poor perceived adaptability of the candidate (knowledge to be), mentioned in 35% of cases, while the salary requested by the applicant is an obstacle in only one in five cases (21%).
So
"surprising"
to the director of studies of Bpifrance Philippe Mutricy, recruitment difficulties mainly concern low-skilled jobs, for which no degree is required (42%) or only a patent, CAP or BEP (44% ).
The more the level of qualification increases, the less the difficulties of recruiting SMEs are important, a result that must however be qualified
"by the fact that there are probably more open positions requiring a low level of initial qualification".
One in three SMEs slows down their activity
Faced with this situation, more than one in three companies (34%) restrict its activity, while 26% offer higher salaries for the positions to be filled, according to the study.
In addition, in the fourth quarter, the investment intentions of SMEs are maintained at a high level and their cash flow
"remains extremely favorable",
according to Mr. Mutricy.
However, the share of government guaranteed loans (PGE) used almost entirely rose from 28% this summer to 34% and the bosses foresee a future deterioration in their cash flow due to the rise in commodity prices and Energy.
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Finally,
"the supply difficulties are on the rise over the last three months, so we have not yet passed the peak"
, further explains the director of studies of the public bank, for which these difficulties are persistent and
"not only linked to the restart of the economy ”.