"Everything has become more complex": 31,260 business leaders lost their jobs in the first half of 2025

More than 30,000 business leaders lost their jobs in the first half of 2025 according to the Coriolink barometer, +4.3% compared to the same period in 2024, as RMC revealed to you this Wednesday, August 27.

Entrepreneurs running small businesses with fewer than five employees remain the hardest hit, accounting for more than eight out of ten job losses. The median age of affected entrepreneurs is 46, according to the barometer. In Nouvelle-Aquitaine, 2,754 women and men are affected, an increase of 18%. This is the most exposed region. However, in three regions, job losses among business leaders have declined slightly: Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, PACA, and Grand Est.

“These are not good figures; they reflect slowed economic activity, they reflect a difficulty that businesses are experiencing, cash flow that is strained,” analyses Hervé Kermarrec, president of the GSC association, which publishes the Observatory.

"Even the companies that are well organized, well staffed, and the most solid, they suffered in the first half of the year. We are in a back-to-school period that will be decisive for the end of the year, but unfortunately, I fear that the trend we experienced in this first half will be confirmed in the second," he continues.

Small businesses remain the most exposed, but larger structures are increasingly affected. The most experienced managers are also affected, notably Émilie, a long-time Bordeaux trader who ran a furniture and decoration shop.

“My shop doesn't look like a shop anymore. It looks like a place that's emptying out. The movers come on Thursday and Friday, it's cleaning time. And the keys will be returned on Monday,” sighs Émilie.

The store is closed to customers. On the stepladder, the last shelves are being dismantled, and at the counter, a final assessment is being made... After ten years spent in this historic boutique in downtown Bordeaux, accompanied by three employees, the owner is handing over the keys after a difficult final year.

So, ceasing her business is a relief for her, even though she no longer believes in the future of independent business: “Over the years, everything has become more complex. You start to have personal problems, stress, unpaid bills, etc. At some point, your brain says stop.” Emilie doesn't intend to stay unemployed for too long, she's considering doing consulting or opening pop-up stores.