A quarter of the self‑employed said that at least half of their business came from one of their economic partners: they are said to be economically dominated by a customer, a supplier, a digital platform or another partner. This situation affected over a third of micro‑entrepreneurs. Self‑employed people dominated by an economic partner were over‑represented in the agriculture and business and mixed services sectors. They were more often dissatisfied with their jobs. Immigrants were over‑represented among the economically dominated self‑employed.

More than half of the economically dominated self‑employed were dependent on their dominant economic partner, in the sense that losing this relationship would have jeopardised the survival of their business. Between 2021 and 2023, on average, 12% of the self‑employed were economically dependent. The economically dependent self‑employed were particularly over‑represented in the transport sector, where 42% of the self‑employed were dominated by a digital platform giving them access to customers. Micro‑entrepreneurs, immigrants and residents of a urban policy Priority Neighbourhood were clearly over‑represented among the platform‑dependent self‑employed; conversely, the most highly ducated were under‑represented. Two‑thirds of the self‑employed who were economically dependent on a partner were constrained by that partner in their work, either economically or in terms of work organisation; in particular, half of them were constrained in setting their prices.