Approximately 2.5 million people would be engaged, in whole or in part, in undeclared work, but the extent of the phenomenon remains poorly known, according to a report by the Employment Advisory Council.
This is a figure that has gone relatively unnoticed. According to the latest report from the Employment Advisory Council (COE), the weight of the underground economy is estimated to be 12.6% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in France.
Thus, 2.5 million people would be affected by this difficult-to-measure sector in France.
In total, the loss in social security contributions is estimated to be between 4.4 and 5.7 billion euros in 2016, according to Acoss, the national agency of URSAFF.
France Below the European Average
The share of the undeclared economy in France would be well below the European average, according to the authors of the report. According to the Schneider figures cited in the document, the European Union average is 17.9% compared to 6.2% in Switzerland, 5.6% in the United States, 8.5% in Japan, and 9.8% in Australia. On the scale of the Old Continent, France is below the southern European countries such as Greece (20.8%), Italy (19.5%), or Spain (16.6%). Conversely, Denmark (9.3%), the Netherlands (7.5%), or Austria (6.7%) appear at the bottom of the table.
The Decline of Undeclared Work
Measuring undeclared work at any given moment remains a delicate exercise, notes the Employment Advisory Council, and its evolution is even more complex to grasp.
Over the last 15 years, the undeclared economy would have decreased from 22.6% to 16.8% of GDP. During this period, this proportion would have decreased from 14.7% to 12.3% in France and from 16.7% to 9.7% in Germany.
