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Business & Finance
Brought to you by: Monaco Life
Photo: Twitter Pôle emploi[/caption]
The French jobs market has reported its second consecutive year of employment growth, with 200,000 new jobs created in the commercial sector during 2016. The government said that the latest figures confirm the fact of economic growth in France.
The last three months of 2016 were the seventh consecutive quarter of jobs increasing, taking the total over 2015 and 2016 to more than 300,000 new positions.
The jobs market fell in numbers in 2012, 2013, and 2014. The Ministry of Labour said that the improvement was due to “measures taken by the government”.
Temporary employment has reached its highest level since the beginning of 2008, and the sector is considered a precursor of employment trends.
Overall, job creation in 2016 is a good omen for the publication next Thursday of the unemployment rate for 2016.
In the third quarter, the rate stood at 9.7 percent in metropolitan France and 10 percent in France as a whole. However, between 2.81 and 3.47 million remain unemployed.
The new hirings have come too late for the outgoing president, Francois Hollande, who has suffered record-braking unpopularity. Presidential elections are due in three months’ time.
Monaco's Junior Chamber of Commerce (JCEM) held its first networking breakfast of 2017 on Friday, March 17, at the Salon Bellevue of the Café de Paris.
The theme of the morning’s conference, attended by 110 people, was “Government financial tools and support for business” (“Les outils de financement et de soutien du Gouvernement en faveur des enterprises”), as presented by the Department of Finance and the Business Development Agency (Direction de l'Expansion Économique).
Minister of Finance and Economy, Jean Castellini, delivered the morning’s opening and closing remarks, and answered questions from the audience. Minister Castellini took the opportunity to discuss Monaco’s new incubator and accelerator programme, a facility that will open in the fall of 2017 in Fontvieille. This strategy teams up Monaco Telecom, in particular with the current owner Xavier Niel, who will help select successful startups that are either already set up in the Principality, or identified using the incubation process started in Paris.
François-Xavier Le Clerc, Head of Department of the Business Development Agency, hosted the 2-hour discussion. Mr Le Clerc also launched an appeal: “I’m calling on businesses to submit propositions for the EUREKA program.” The EUREKA fund, offered to support to Monegasque companies for technological projects that are innovative and collaborative – they must have at least one other partner belonging to one of the 38 EUREKA member countries) – is made available through repayable loans or subsidies. The aim is to fund at least one “targeted and pragmatic” project per year.
Sandrine Fejoz represented SACDE, “Société d'Aide à la Création et au Developpement d’Entreprises”, a government owned venture capital firm which supports innovative Monegasque companies. Those with “innovative projects under development can contact the Government, that studies opportunities for financial support – contributing to the share capital of the entity to be created in the Principality and additional loans.” In some cases, repayment can begin after 24 or 36 months, to allow companies to develop and absorb social charges and taxes.
Helene Fabbretti of the Direction du Budget et du Trésor, and Delphine Garcia of BPI France, which offers finance for capital market investors were also present.
Many familiar faces were in the audience, including Serge Pierryves, Director of the Business Development Agency; Ambassador-at-Large, Henri Fissore, Marilyne Pierre from CREM, Alina Gavril from Barclays and Invest Monaco’s Justin Highman.
Philip Culazzo, who last year launched his made in Monaco company