More than one in two self-employed is now self-employed

The shutdown of the economy almost two years ago did not dampen the ardor of the self-employed (craftsmen, traders, liberal and medical professions).

At the end of 2020, the Urssaf counted some 3.8 million, or 8.2% more than a year earlier, when they had then declared no less than 80.4 billion euros in revenue.

The average income of traditional self-employed workers thus amounted, at the end of 2020, to 42,976 euros, while it was 6,092 euros for autoentrepreneurs.

In detail, however, only self-employed (+17.5%) swelled the number of self-employed in 2020. The share of traditional self-employed remained stable at 1.88 million, for 1.93 million self-employed .

More than one out of two self-employed is therefore self-employed (50.7%) during this period.

This is the first time since the creation of this regime in 2009 that their share is preponderant.

Moreover, 69.1% of them declared a positive turnover, and are considered as “economically active”.

Fewer women

Autoentrepreneurs also have the particularity of being young, since more than 30% of registrations of self-employed workers (220,000) were made in 2020 by autoentrepreneurs under 30 years old.

A dynamic of creations supported by men (+5.5%), while women were less likely to start that year (-0.7%).

These new self-employed entrepreneurs under 30 are very present in home delivery (via platforms), a sector where registrations increased by 38.7% compared to 2019. In non-specialized retail trade, the The increase is even more marked (+43.6%), driven by distance selling. Conversely, the taxi and VTC sector, particularly disrupted by the health crisis, recorded a general drop in registrations (-34.5% for traditional self-employed persons, and -36.2% for self-employed persons).

This enthusiasm for self-employed status is not the same in all regions, however. It is particularly important in Ile-de-France, where their share of all registrations is 89.5% in 2020, as well as in PACA (83.8%), Rhône-Alpes (83.5%) , Nord Pas de Calais (83.4%). On the other hand, it is a little lower in Brittany (72.8%) and Auvergne (76.3%).

Another geographical disparity is notable, for traditional self-employed workers, in terms of average annual income.

It is indeed higher than the national average (42,976 euros) in all the regions of the northeast.

Unsurprisingly, it is in Ile-de-France that it is the strongest (55,995 euros), followed by Nord-Pas-de-Calais (48,453 euros).

At the other end, it is in Limousin, Auvergne and Languedoc-Roussillon that it is lowest (less than 38,000 euros).