Informations Rapides · 18 September 2025 · n° 230

Acceleration in business births in August 2025  Enterprise births - August 2025

In August 2025, the total number of business births – all types of businesses combined and seasonally and working-day adjusted – rose more sharply than in the previous month (+2.6% after +0.8% in July). It exceeded the threshold of 100,000 monthly business births for the first time since the beginning of the series (2000). Registrations of self-managed micro-entrepreneur accelerated (+3.6% after +1.4%), as did the creations of companies (+1.9% after +0.2%), while traditional sole proprietorships continued to decline (-2.6% after -2.1%). In raw data, the total number of businesses created over the past twelve months (September 2024 to August 2025) rose by 0.6% compared to the same period one year earlier (September 2023 to August 2024).

In August 2025, after adjustment for seasonal and working-day variations, business births accelerated in the business support activities sector (+4.5% after +1.8%). They rebounded in household services (+4.1% after -1.7%) and in industry (+5.7% after -9.7%). Business births continued to rise in trade, including the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, though more moderately than in the previous month (+2.6% after +4.9%). Conversely, they declined in financial and insurance activities (-2.3% after +2.3%) and in education, health, and social work activities (-5.1% after +2.9%).

In raw data, the cumulative number of business births from June to August 2025 increased by 6.9% compared to the same period one year earlier. Registrations of self-managed micro-entrepreneur rose sharply (+8.7%), whereas a more moderate increases in the creation of companies (+3.8%) and traditional sole proprietorships (+3.6%).

During this period, the sector that contributed the most to the overall increase was trade, including the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (+6,100 business births compared to the same period a year earlier, representing a contribution* of +2.4 percentage points). Within this sector, the most significant rise was in “specialised mail order retail” (+2,900 business births year-on-year). Conversely, financial and insurance activities made the largest negative contribution to the overall change in business births (-900 business births compared to the same period a year earlier, or a contribution of -0.4 percentage point).

In raw data, the total number of business births over the past twelve months (September 2024 to August 2025) rose by 0.6% year on year. Registrations of self-managed micro-entrepreneur increased (+1.9%), as did the creations of companies (+1.8%), while traditional sole proprietorships dropped (-10.8%).

For July 2025, the month-on-month change in total business births (all types of businesses combined) has been revised upward by 0.1 percentage points, due to updates in raw data and adjustments to the seasonal and working-day correction coefficients: it now stands at +0.8%, compared to +0.7% as previously published.