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3rd September 2010
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 What is it like to work in France? Read our survey results What is it like to work in France? We had hundreds of replies to our survey, both from those who are employees and those who are self-employed. Here are the results in full.The majority of people surveyed – 58% - said they were self-employed. The other 42% described themselves as employees. Perhaps surprisingly, on average those who are employees earn more than those are self-employed. They also work fewer hours. THE SELF-EMPLOYED Of those who are self-employed, 48% are aged between 36-50 years old; 40% are 51-65 years old. At 89%, the vast majority live in rural France. The most popular profession, at 28%, is a business that involves a gîte, chambre d'hôte or hotel. The second most popular profession is running an estate agency with a figure of 18%, then those in the building trade (including plumber and electricians) at 14%, those offering web/internet services at 13% and property management at 10%. Fifty-one percent of people said they chose this line of work because they already had experience in it. Twenty-seven percent said it was something they always wanted to do, while 22% said it was the only way they could earn a living in France. Ninety percent said they did not need to retrain or get French qualifications to work in France. The majority have a micro-enterprise (for most this means a maximum turnover of €27,000pa), although almost a quarter have a SARL (small business). Ninety percent do not have any other staff other than themselves although a quarter of respondents said they would like to hire people but could not afford to do so. How easy is it being self-employed working in France? Happily, the vast majority – 77% - said they had a steady trade with 62% saying that it had increased since they started out, with 26% reckoning that it had remained constant. For 23% of respondents, however, trade was slow with 12% saying it had decreased. Despite this 63% said that it was 'quite difficult' or 'difficult' to run a small business in France. Asked to name the issues that were frustrating and difficult, the biggest problem by far was the level of cotisations (social security payments) that need to be made with 76% of people citing this an an issue. The next was the everyday bureaucracy at 63%, then the level of tax (36%), closely following by doing a tax return (33%) and then the cost of employing people (29%). When it came to cotisations, 43% of respondents said they paid more than 30% of their income to the state in social security payments. A similar percentage paid between 10%-30%. How much do you live on in France? For 31% people their personal income is less than €10,000pa while 13% said it was between €10,000 - €15,000pa. At the other end of the scale, 26% of people earn more than €30,000pa. Fifteen per cent say they earn between €20,000-€30,000pa; 14.5% per cent earn between €15,000 - €20,000 Forty-eight per cent of people said they earned less than they expected to earn when they started out, while 44% said what their earnings were as as expected. Do you enjoy your work? Moving to France is all about the lifestyle, but for one in four respondents a working week is in excess of 50 hours. Thirty-seven percent worked 35 hours or fewer while a similar number worked between 35-50 hours. Despite the difficulties and hard work, the overwhelming number of people - 84% - said they were happy in their work either most of the time or always. EMPLOYEES Of those who are employees 55% were aged 36-50 years old while 32% were between 51-65. Sixty-eight percent lived in rural France. Working in an estate agent office or in property is the most common profession at 26.5%. This is closely followed by teaching (usually English as a second language) at 24.5%. Other significant professions are medical (13%) and hospitality (11%). A good majority - 67% - work for a French company with 17% working for a British one and 14% for an American enterprise. The good news is that when it came to finding a job 58% found it easy or fairly easy; 42% difficult or quite difficult. Just over 64% of respondents did not have a job when they moved to France but found one when they arrived. Of those who answered, a slight majority – 54% - said they needed to be able to speak French to get their job, although when it comes to advice, by the far the most common and heartfelt response was to learn the language. Employees tended to earn more than the self-employed – 54% earned €20,000pa or more (compared to 40% of the self-employed). Nineteen per cent earned less than €10,000pa (compared to 34% of the self-employed). For 60% their earnings were as expected. Again, the vast majority (84.5%) enjoyed what they did always or most of the time. Despite the 35 hours week only 42% worked 35 hours or less. Forty per cent worked between 36-50, while 17% worked more than 50 hours a week. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE PEOPLE PLANNING TO WORK IN FRANCE? '* Learn French, learn the culture, always try to meet new people as word of mouth works well in France.' '* Do your homework first, make sure your talent fills a need in France. Check out new technology – I am decentralised in that I work from home but report to a major office.' '* Make sure you have enough money to live on in case you can't find work straight away' '* Teachers in England aren't qualified to teach in France – you have to take a very tough entrance exam to get into the profession.' '* Accept that France is not England; that the French are not English!' '* Get an accountant. Be patient when you get here.' '* Look for organisations that need fluent English speakers (I work at an international business school where 80% of the courses are in English). '* Use all the contacts you have to hear about available work because many jobs aren't advertised. It's definitely not what you know but who you know.' '* Register with employment agencies – it can lead to permanent work. Also put your CV on www.monster.fr' '* Enrol at ANPE. They can help you with your French CV and cover letter and advise on courses/secteurs that are looking for employees.' By Rachel Loos SEE ALSO: * Finding a job in France * Starting a business in France  The French job market How do I find a job? Setting Up As An Auto Entrepreneur in Limousin Starting a business in France: which legal structure? Working in France Home Page 
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