Almost half of the managers of very small companies (SMEs) are paid salaries below the minimum wage, that is, less than 1,426.30 euros net per month, for an average of 50 hours of work per week, according to a study by the union of independents and small businesses (SDI) published on Thursday.
According to this study, a third of these artisans, merchants and VSE managers even declare receiving less than 1,000 euros per month.
The figures from a quarterly survey carried out among entrepreneurs with fewer than ten employees and an annual turnover of less than two million euros describe a difficult situation.
The majority of the managers interviewed noted a drop in their activity compared to the previous quarter. This trend is marked by a general slowdown in orders.
50 hours of work per week
Faced with treasury (56%) and contracting (84%) problems, more than nine out of ten express a negative feeling towards their activity. A level never reached in the last two years, since the launch of this quarterly barometer prepared by the IDE.
These difficulties are pushing 16% of VSE managers to consider ceasing their activity before the end of the year, while company bankruptcies continued to increase in the second quarter.
In 2021, France had more than 4 million VSEs, employing 2.6 million employees, according to INSEE. They represent almost a tenth of the French gross domestic product (GDP).
Small exporters, these small structures depend especially on the national situation.
This is marked by a context of budgetary uncertainty, the latest episode of which is the surprise resignation, on Monday, of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, a few days before the scheduled presentation of the budget by his government.
The resigning Prime Minister had announced in particular his intention to reduce the CVAE, a production tax, “which mainly affects SMEs.” Most VSEs have a turnover of less than 500,000 euros and are therefore already exempt from the CVAE.
This IDE survey was carried out from September 25 to 30 among 1,608 VSE executives.
Source: BFM TV
