According to the latest data from Insee, 1.072 million new businesses were registered in 2022, surpassing the record level of 2021. Company and micro-business start-ups are on the rise, as is the average age of new entrepreneurs. The number of women entrepreneurs is also on the rise. A look back at 2022 in a few figures.
Company start-ups up sharply
For the second year running, the number of business start-ups reached a record high in 2022, surpassing the symbolic milestone of one million registrations. 1.072 million businesses were created in 2022, compared with 1.05 million in 2021, an increase of 2% year-on-year.
The trend is even more pronounced in the final quarter of 2022, with the number of business start-ups 8.5% higher than in the final quarter of 2021.
While the microenterprise system continues to be a great success, accounting for 61% of business start-ups in 2022, company start-ups are also on the rise. Over the year as a whole, company creations rose by 4.8%, compared with a 2.8% increase for microenterprise creations. By contrast, the number of conventional sole proprietorships created fell sharply (-7.4%).
In 10 years, the number of company start-ups has almost doubled: 293,400 companies were created in 2022, compared with 163,400 in 2012. Simplified joint-stock companies (SAS) now attract more new entrepreneurs than limited liability companies (SARL), with the latter now accounting for two-thirds of all company creations.
New, older entrepreneurs, more women
Insee does, however, note differences between business sectors. While consulting, leisure, art and entertainment activities attracted a large number of entrepreneurs in 2022, with a 25% rise in business start-ups, registrations in the transport and warehousing sector fell by 34.5%. On the other hand, the industrial and craft sectors are showing real dynamism, with an 18% increase in the number of business start-ups.
After the surge in new jobs in the transport sector during the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of write-offs also reflects the end of a period: they rose by 33% in this sector, compared with a more moderate increase of 17% in the services, education and healthcare sectors.
The vitality of start-ups in the transport sector was essentially due to micro-businesses, launched by entrepreneurs aged 31 on average. The decline in the number of micro-businesses has automatically led to an increase in the average age of new entrepreneurs, which is now over 40 after having remained below this threshold for many years.
At the same time, the number of women starting their own businesses is on the rise: they currently account for 55% of sole proprietorships and 43% of micro-businesses. However, they remain in the minority among company founders, with a share of 33.4% across all sectors. While they account for 53.9% of company directors in the services sector and 47.6% in education, health and social work, their share drops to 8.8% in the construction sector, and 10.5% in the transport sector.