Business boom in Alpes-Maritimes

Life sciences at the Sophia Antipolis Technology hub had a positive year with a 7% increase. Copyright Alpes-Maritimes Chamber of Commerce.

A report by the Alpes Maritimes Chamber of Commerce has revealed that, on the whole, jobs were created in various business sectors throughout the department. In 2011, employment in the construction industry grew by a remarkable seven per cent and jobs in manufacturing rose by 4.5 per cent.  Services followed with a healthy 1.5 per cent increase, as well as trading which rose by 0.5 per cent. 

Companies in the hospitality industry, including hotels and restaurants, also saw their annual turnover rise by 1.5 per cent. Retail on the other hand slipped into the red. 

The life sciences industry saw a promising increase of seven per cent, while tourism last year remained one of the region’s biggest employers.

However, it wasn’t as successful for technology and information centres in the region because of outsourcing to lower-cost countries. In particular, the innovative technology hub in Sophia Antipolis registered a two hundred million euro loss.

In comparison to national figures, businesses in the Alpes-Maritimes are going strong. According to Bernard Kleynhoff, President of the Alpes Maritimes Chamber of Commerce, “we have had a better year than national statistics, with a more relaxed business atmosphere and better morale for entrepreneurs.”

Despite these improvements, the Alpes-Maritimes had higher unemployment figures than the national average. The department registered 50,000 job seekers in November 2011 - an annual increase of 8.4 per cent, much higher than the national rate of 5.2 per cent.

Sarah Lloyd