Jobs, the decline of GreenTech, the meteoric growth of Generative AI, regions… What the Start-up Nation needs to remember in 2025

Over 25,000 jobs created by 2025.

After the autumn blip, the end-of-year rebound shows the strength of France’s startup ecosystem.

However, more measured employment growth rates will become the norm from 2023 onwards.

Île-de-France widens the disparities with the other regions of mainland France.

Digital startups (IT Services) are becoming the most important sector for job creation, while GreenTech is set to decline by 2025.

Artificial intelligence is taking over, with the meteoric growth of Generative AI.

Paris, March 6, 2026 – Three years ago, Numeum launched its monthly barometer on employment trends in French Tech startups, based on the Motherbase artificial intelligence solution. Job creation, technological, sectoral and regional dynamics… Numeum and Motherbase draw up a precise picture of the dynamics of French Tech in 2025.

” The 6%-plus growth in startup employment in France in 2025 demonstrates the ability of startups to successfully face complex economic conditions. In 2025, political and regulatory uncertainty, economic tensions and a contraction in fund-raising have not diminished the ability of startups to offer solutions that meet the needs of their customers. “Guillaume Buffet, President of Numeum’s Startup Community.

2025: a slightly more dynamic job market than 2024 for French Tech

In an increasingly uncertain political and economic environment in France and internationally, job creation in French Tech proved solid again in 2025, despite a blip in September and October. French startups generated more than 25,000 jobs, an increase of over 6% year-on-year.

Over 5 years, however, employment growth slows from 13.3% in 2021 to 9.1% in 2023, then 6.1% in 2025.

However, the 6.1% growth forecast for 2025 confirms the resilience of this ecosystem, with results slightly up on the previous year (5.8%).

Île-de-France will account for 65% of job creation in 2025, once again widening the gap with other regions

Taking all technologies together, over 16,500 of the 25,000 jobs created last year were in the Paris Basin, representing 65% of the national total. Île-de-France regained 9 points compared to 2024 (56%).

French Tech has created jobs in virtually every region of France, even if the Île-de-France region and the southern half of the country concentrate the bulk of the jobs created year after year.

2025, the year of Artificial Intelligence for French startups

The year of the AI Summit in Paris, 2025 was also the year of accelerated development of artificial intelligence in France, with over 5,000 jobs generated within French Tech’s AI startups. At the same time, generative AI startups are making an exceptional breakthrough, with the highest variation recorded in 2025 (+29%).

GreenTech no longer tops the list of job-creation sectors in 2025

In terms of the sectors covered by French Tech, it’s the digital startups (IT Services and Products) that are regaining their leadership of the years 2022 and 2023. They created almost 7,000 jobs last year. With just over 3,000 jobs created, the GreenTech sector has lost the top spot it held in recent years. Fintech will also be back in the spotlight in 2025, with over 3,600 jobs created.

What about 2026? Numeum invites you to visit: https: //barometrestartups.fr/

Methodology

• The French startup employment barometer is based on AI analysis of a sample of 8,889 French startups in December 2025.
• Each month, the jobs created and eliminated by each startup in the sample are counted (as declared by employees on professional social networks).
• Each startup is classified by AI, according to its field of activity, the technologies it masters and its location.
• This barometer is based on a constant sample: it therefore takes no account of startup creations or closures over a calendar year. Companies that have disappeared are removed from the sample, and the data is recalculated each month over the entire period.
• The data presented is limited to the sample, but can be extrapolated to all French startups. They concern direct employment only.
• According to Motherbase, a startup cannot have more than 850 employees and must have been created after 2008.
• The size of the 2025 sample was revised in the second half of the year to include in the study only startups for which the monthly measurements had been made reliable.
• The results presented in this annual report are extrapolated to all French startups, based on the representative sample used for the study.

About Numeum

Numeum is France’s leading employers’ association for digital professionals. A member of the Syntec federation, the second largest branch of the MEDEF, it represents digital services companies (ESN), software publishers, platforms and engineering and technology consulting (ICT) companies.Numeum’s 2,500 member companies account for 85% of the sector’s total sales, which represent 70 billion euros in sales and 670,000 employees in France. Chaired by Véronique Torner since June 2023, Numeum is implementing an impact project to raise the profile of the industry and federate the ecosystems of Digital professionals in France and Europe. The presidency has set itself three main priorities: the regions, to support members throughout France; skills, to meet the challenges of attractiveness and gender diversity; and responsible digital, to accompany and support the development of a digital ecosystem on a trajectory of positive economic, social, societal and environmental impact.

For more information: www.numeum.fr

To find out more:

Barometer (monthly update): https://barometrestartups.fr/

Interview (Les Echos):
https://www.lesechos.fr/start-up/ecosysteme/start-up-le-nouveau-podium-des-creations-demplois-en-2025-2216746

Main source (data & graphics): Baromètre de l’emploi des startups en France – bilan 2025 (Numeum x Motherbase) :