Earned income of the self-employed in 2014 Increase for “conventional” independent workers, decrease for auto-entrepreneurs

At the end of 2014, 2.7 million people in France had a self-employed activity, excluding the agricultural sector. Of these, 28% were auto-entrepreneurs. Between 2013 and 2014, numbers of self-employed workers, excluding auto-entrepreneurs, fell for the first time since 2010, and the increase in the number of auto-entrepreneurs slowed. In 2014, self-employed workers, excluding auto-entrepreneurs, received an average of €3,260 per month, ranging from €1,040 in retail trade excluding stores and €8,310 for doctors and dentists. Auto-entrepreneurs drew €410 per month from their activity, on average. A third of them combined this activity with payroll employment; including their wage, they received €2,100 per month in total. Within a given sector, women earned a third less than men. Part of this difference is explained by the smaller amount of work done by women. Between 2013 and 2014, average earned income decreased by 1.8% for auto-entrepreneurs but rose by 1.2% for conventional sole proprietors and by 3.5% for majority shareholders of companies. These increases covered almost all sectors. They were strongest in administrative services and business support activities (+8.5%), and retail trade excluding stores (+5.5%). However, average earned income fell for taxis (including private hire vehicles, –3.3%), the pharmaceutical trade (–2.8%), the legal and accounting professions, and also architecture and engineering.