Informations Rapides · 18 September 2026 · n° 222

Strong acceleration in business births in August 2026 Enterprise births - August 2026

In August 2026, the total number of business births, across all types of businesses and in seasonally and working-day adjusted data, accelerated strongly (+6.5% after +0.9% in July). Micro-entrepreneur registrations accelerated sharply (+7.3% after +0.9%). Births of conventional sole proprietorships increased again strongly (+7.9% after +7.8%) and company births rebounded (+3.8% after -1.3%). In raw data, the total number of business births over the last twelve months (September 2025 to August 2026) increased sharply by 11.4% compared with the same period a year earlier (September 2024 to August 2025).

In August 2026, in seasonally and working-day adjusted data, business births increased sharply in trade including the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (+10.9% after +2.9%) and transport and storage (+11.5% after +10.7%). They rebounded in business support activities (+5.4% after -2.3%) and, more sharply, in accommodation and food service activities (+17.4% after -8.3%). By contrast, they fell back slightly in construction (-0.7% after +3.2%).

In raw data, the cumulative number of business births from June to August 2026 rose sharply compared with the same period a year earlier: up 36,100, or 13.1%. Micro-entrepreneur registrations increased sharply (+17.2%), births of conventional sole proprietorships (+7.9%) and company births (+4.6%) also increased markedly.

Over this period, the sector contributing the most to the increase was business support activities (+12,200 business births compared with the same period a year earlier, corresponding to a contribution* of +4.4 points). Within this sector, business births increased particularly in “routine cleaning of buildings” activities (+3,900 business births compared with the same period a year earlier). Among the other sectors contributing to the increase were information and communication (+9,000 business births, or +3.3 points) and trade, including the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (+6,900 births, or +2.5 points). Conversely, financial and insurance activities contributed the most to the decrease (-1,100 business births, corresponding to a contribution of -0.4 points).

In raw data, the total number of business births over the last twelve months (September 2025 to August 2026) increased by 11.4% year on year. Micro-entrepreneur registrations increased sharply (+14.4%), while company births increased at a more moderate rate (+6.7%), as did births of conventional sole proprietorships (+4.4%).

For July 2026, the monthly change in total business births (all types of businesses combined) in seasonally and working-day adjusted data has been revised upwards by 2.2 points: it now stands at +0.9%, compared with -1.3% in the previous publication. This unusually large revision results from the correction of a technical error. The revision affects the different types of businesses and sectors of activity fairly evenly: it amounts to +2.3 points for conventional sole proprietorships, +2.4 points for micro-entrepreneurs and +1.9 points for companies.