One in four self-employed people also works as an employee

In France, at the end of 2016, 23% of self-employed persons were also employees, or used to be during the year. They were 42% among micro-entrepreneurs and 15% among other (and so called “traditional”) self-employed persons. Pluriactivity is more widespread among liberal professions, especially in health activities.

On average, pluriactive persons earn more money from their paid employment than from their self-employed activity. Overall, the earned income of pluriactive persons is higher than the earned income of monoactive self-employed. These averages conceal very different situations: half of pluriactive persons have a main activity, whether as an employee or a self-employed, from which they earn a large income compared to other self-employed people, with a less lucrative additional activity. The other pluriactive persons have both quite low self-employed incomes and wages: they often have intermittent activities or have just launched their business.

Time spent in paid employment is strongly linked to the economic sector of self-employment and to the associated earned income. Self-employed persons working in education or artistic activities have more often a part-time or occasional paid employment.