the human services market | France

1.1 Presentation and definition of the market

The personal services market contains all the services provided in order to provide assistance to individuals . These activities are defined by decree 2016-750 of 6 June 2016 ( article D.7231-1 of the Labour Code ) and are 26 in number. They include, among others, assistance to dependent persons (elderly or disabled), home maintenance, teaching, or gardening.

We can distinguish 5 main actors human services: private companies (including micro-entrepreneurs), associations, public bodies, individual employers and online matchmaking platforms

Demand is segmented between he independent persons who are looking for a certain level of comfort and time saving and the he dependent people, that require daily or weekly assistance

In France the formal market is experiencing timid growth, hampered by the importance of informal activity. The size of the informal market, although it decreased considerably between 2000 and 2015, is now estimated at nearly 50% of the total. The State measures that had borne fruit at the beginning of the century are now being hampered by red tape and rising labour costs. Nevertheless, according to the Federation of Human Services (FESP), it is possible to combat the black market effectively, and the market could well unlock its formidable potential for growth and job creation in the years to come

In addition, other indicators are encouraging for the French market, notably the ageing of the population, as well as the strong desire of older people to age in their own homes