Almost half of the small traders are in a precarious situation

According to a study made public by the RMC, 47% of self-employed people and managers of very small businesses (VSEs), i.e. those employing fewer than 10 employees, earn less than 1,500 euros per month. An alarming figure in anticipation of the year 2024 which promises to be difficult for these workers.

27% of small business owners earn less than 1,000 euros per month

Indeed, according to the annual inventory conducted by the independent union with 1,472 respondents (a document released by RMC), 47% of managers of independent and very small businesses barely earn the minimum wage. According to the same report, 27% of them earn less than 1,000 euros per month. However, about half of them say they work more than 50 hours per week.

” This is the result of the year 2023 which was very critical for many of our companies. We now have a 50% reduction compared to 2022… and so, inevitably, this has an impact on cash flow and of course the remuneration of our managers. », estimates Mark Sánchez, general secretary of the independent union and VSE on the RMC. For the year 2023, only 18% of bosses confirm that the year was better than the previous year in terms of activity.

” 68% of companies find it difficult to pay their PGEs »

In addition to energy bills that are getting higher and higher, repayment of state-guaranteed loans is a real handicap for many bosses. Contracted during the Covid-19 pandemic, some bosses are struggling to pay it. ” We have 68% of companies that find it difficult to pay their PGE », suggests Mark Sanchez. The system should be accessible to VSEs (fewer than 10 employees), in addition to being extended to the Union of Independents and the General Secretary of VSEs. ” What we need is to make this system more flexible, of an intermediary system, and to really allow easy access to VSEs, which is not there today. », asks Mark Sanchez.

Yet according to the same study, 85% of bosses start the year with a negative state of mind. In the face of this pessimism, concrete solutions must be found to reach 2024 without leaving any stone unturned,” Today, there is an awakening, I would say, finally! Now, we have to put forward solutions to at least be able to get through this year 2024, which is still very complicated. The predictions we can make predict about 60,000 to 70,000 failures. », estimate Mark Sanchez. He also calls for reduced administrative burdens for business leaders, explaining that a boss spends an average of eight hours per week working on his paperwork, or about 3% of his company’s turnover.