Enterprises created in 2010: seven out of ten were still active three years after start-up

Three years after their creation, 71% of enterprises started up in the first half of 2010 were still active. In all sectors, the sustainability of this generation of enterprises was higher than that of the 2006 generation who were hit hard by the 2008-2009 recession. Sustainability after three years was lower for enterprises in trade (64%), real-estate activities (67%) and construction (68%). In contrast, it was highest in healthcare (85%), industry (80%), transport (78%) and business services (77%). The main determining factors of sustainability were the same as those observed for enterprises created in 2006. Companies were much more sustainable than sole proprietorships. A high initial investment, a high level of training of the company founder and previous experience in the same profession also increased the chances of sustainability. After three years, the result in terms of employment for these enterprises started up in the first half of 2010 is broadly neutral. Job creations in sustainable enterprises more or less compensated for job losses due to business closures.