Although numerous surveys(TNS-Sofres, Médiamétrie, M@rsoin, Capacity Survey , etc.) have made it possible to measure the phenomenon in France over the past two years, from the point of view of usage, the impact of the collaborative economy on employment remains largely unknown: most of the available data, particularly in the social sphere, comes from the managers of collaborative platforms and consulting firms or investors who promote or have a direct interest in their development.

In turn, the DGE (General Directorate of Enterprises) of the Ministry of Economy, in 2015, the IGAS (General Inspectorate of Social Affairs), in 2016, and then the DARES (Directorate for the animation of research, studies and statistics) of the Ministry of Labor, in 2017, undertook to measure the impact of the collaborative economy on employment.

Around 6,000 workers employed by the platforms themselves

The IGAS, for its part, emphasizes the rapid evolution of the number of direct jobs created by platforms: "collaborative platforms have only a few thousand employees of their own: a volume that is still low but four times higher than in 2009" .

200,000 workers in the collaborative economy?

• The DGE, estimated in 2015 at 5.2% the proportion of French people who derived more than 50% of their income from various forms of collaborative economy.
• David Menascé, in a note from the Institut de l'Entreprise, estimated in 2015 that more than 200,000 collaborative workers would actually offer their services on digital intermediation platforms. This would represent about 0.7% of the working population.
• According to the IGAS, " based on the estimated volume of business of employment platforms in France and on observation with the platforms, the figure of 200,000 regular contributors seems to be underestimated. In fact, Uber and Hopwork together total nearly 34,000 professional contributors in France and Airbnb 140,000 hosts."
• The impact of collaborative platforms on (gross) job creation and income generation seems, according to the IGAS, to be well documented in the urban transport sector: "25% of Uber drivers were unemployed prior to registering on the platform and 43% of them had been unemployed for more than a year. Moreover, 50% of Uber drivers work more than 30 hours per week, and for 71% the platform is the source of more than half of their income.
• "The increase in registrations of micro-entrepreneurs in the transport and warehousing sector (...) also seems, according to the IGAS, to corroborate, in France, the existence of a positive impact of platforms on gross job creation in this sector." The IGAS, however, admits that " we do not have empirical studies that allow us to quantify the positive impact on employment of collaborative platforms in other sectors.

The various forms of collaborative economy are shaking up the statistical system

• DARES does not observe, in the statistics, a spectacular increase in self-employment linked to the rise of platforms.
• While the share of non-salaried workers in total employment has risen slightly since the early 2000s after decades of decline, this reversal occurred before the rise of platforms. "It is to be related to the creation of the auto-entrepreneur status, which may have advanced both the reality of self-employment and its statistical recording."
• As for the number of auto-entrepreneurs (or micro-entrepreneurs) "while it increased sharply between 2006 and 2013 (+184%), they remain a very small minority (less than 3% of people in 2013)."
• Insee statistics on business creations show, however, a strong increase in the transportation and warehousing category over the past two years. Business creations in this sector, which includes VTCs, thus increased by 45.8% in 2015 compared to -4.7% for the entire non-agricultural market economy. These observations, observes DARES, "may be a sign of a strong trend in the years to come. Nevertheless, while analysis of finer data provides insight into the phenomenon, it is unlikely that the macroeconomic effect is significant at this stage."

Jobbing platforms stimulate the growth of "odd jobs".

• There were 46,855 ads for per-job or per-assignment paid odd jobs in April 2017, representing nearly 5% of all online job postings
• Moving-doing-gardening is the most proposed category of mission on the Jobbing market with 49,1 % of the offers before baby-sitting (35,7 %) and cleaning (6,6 %).
• Jobbers, for their part, are primarily looking for cleaning and personal assistance (24.8%), hostessing in the event industry (17%) and tutoring (14.2%).
• The Ile-de-France region accounts for 20% of the small job offers, followed by Rhône-Alpes (14%) and Pays de la Loire (7%).
• The average life span of a job ad is 48 hours.
• The diploma and the experience are not determining in the recruitment for the missions of Jobbing.
• The availability of candidates remains a priority.
• Assignments are mainly paid on a per job or per hour basis.

According to the authors of this study, " jobbing" is largely the result of a growing number of employees (called "slashers" in Anglo-Saxon countries) who choose to hold several jobs or even several professions simultaneously. "About 8 out of 10 slashers already have a permanent job. Jobbing does not mean the death of permanent employment, but rather a way to manage one's career and income differently. We can also see in this trend a consequence of the rise in part-time work and the need to find ways to increase income.

In September, the Minister of Labor, Muriel Pénicaud, announced a consultation "with all the actors" of the collaborative economy to clarify the "gray area of the law", which has blurred the boundaries between wage employment and self-employment, especially when workers are economically dependent on platforms. The discussions include the status, but also aim to define "better behaviors" in terms of "ratings and remuneration."

For its part, the European Commission has begun new discussions with the European Union's trade unions and employers' organizations on the protections and rights of "new forms of employment", which include zero-hour contracts, multi-skilling and temporary jobs. In a consultative document, it also proposes to review the current rules and its proposals could limit the flexibility of certain forms of employment and reduce the uncertainties linked to atypical contracts developed by the major players in the new economy. The Commission recommends extending the European social rights framework to all types of contracts that may be accompanied by less protection in some Member States.

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