The social economy, some common principles and a lot of diversity: 10% of paid employment and 5% of value-added

In 2012, the four families of the social economy - cooperatives, health insurance funds, associations and foundations - employed 2.3 million paid workers and paid 60 billion euros in remuneration. They generated 90 billion euros of value-added, mostly derived from market activities. Associations and foundations mainly work in social action, healthcare, and education. Cooperatives are major players in banking and in the agrifood sector. In addition to their activity they also have subsidiaries outside the social economy. Health insurance funds focus on top-up health coverage and insurance of goods and people. There are also differences between the families in terms of remuneration conditions and labour management: in certain sectors, associations have greater recourse to subsidised contracts and part-time working than the other families. The four families are present across the French territory, but in terms of in employment are more prominent in unindustrialised areas.