Les emplois de l’économie maritime en 2017

• In France, the foundation of the maritime economy (see methodology) accounts for 421,000 jobs in 2017, representing 1.4% of total employment. It encompasses diverse activities such as coastal tourism, fishing, shipbuilding, and renewable marine energy. With the exception of certain inland waterway activities, all of these are linked to the sea. • The four main activity sectors (coastal tourism, seafood products, maritime and inland transport, and shipbuilding and repair) each account for over 10% of maritime economy jobs.

• With over 243,000 jobs, coastal tourism mobilizes more than half of maritime economy workers (this analysis excludes tourism employment in overseas departments, so maritime employment knowledge there is incomplete—see methodology). Most work in hospitality and food service (INSEE, 2017). • The entire seafood products sector (fishing, aquaculture, processing/preservation, wholesaling, and retail) ranks second with 58,400 jobs. Maritime and inland transport, including port services, employs 43,700 people, and shipbuilding and repair employs 41,700. This sector includes construction of ships and recreational boats.

Traditional 100% maritime activity sectors account for 131,000 jobs in 2017. The main ones are shipbuilding and floating structures (18,000 jobs), seafood processing and preservation (13,500), sea fishing (12,900), and marine aquaculture (11,500).

• Mainland coastal employment zones concentrate nearly nine maritime jobs out of ten in 2017, totaling 360,300. Mediterranean coastal employment zones stand out. They alone represent 36% of maritime employment, ahead of North Atlantic–West Channel zones (21%), East Channel–North Sea (16%), and South Atlantic (13%).

• The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur coastal region stands out clearly with over 100,000 maritime jobs, three-quarters in tourism. Followed by Brittany's coastal regions with 63,500 jobs and Nouvelle-Aquitaine with 52,900 jobs. The employment zones with the most workers in the maritime economy include: Marseille (24,700 jobs), Cannes (22,600), Nice (17,400), Toulon (17,200), Montpellier (14,100), Bayonne (13,500), Brest (13,000), Le Havre (11,300), Royan (10,900), Saint-Nazaire (10,600), and Quimper (10,200). • Tourism represents over 80% of maritime employment in one-third of mainland coastal employment zones (25 zones). Sixteen are located on the Mediterranean coast, where tourism plays a major role. Among zones where tourism is less dominant (below 30%), many host major industrial-port zones like Boulogne-sur-Mer, Cherbourg, Dunkerque, Le Havre, and Lorient.

• Within maritime employment, seafood-related jobs are important in the North Sea, Channel, and Atlantic. They represent over 20% of maritime employment on the coasts of Hauts-de-France, Brittany, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Five coastal employment zones have over 2,000 jobs in this sector: Royan (5,000 jobs), Quimper (4,800), Boulogne-sur-Mer (3,600), Lorient (2,500), and Challans (2,000). • Shipbuilding and repair concentrate over 15% of maritime employment in Brittany and Pays de la Loire, representing nearly one maritime job in four. Five employment zones stand out for this sector: Toulon (5,400 jobs), Brest (5,000), Saint-Nazaire (3,300), Cherbourg en Cotentin (3,200), and Lorient (2,800).

• Maritime and inland transport occupy an important place on the coasts of Hauts-de-France, Normandy, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The main employment zones are Marseille (8,300 jobs), Le Havre (7,300), and Morlaix (2,200). • Finally, the energy production sector concentrates in Hauts-de-France (Dunkerque zone), Normandy (Dieppe–Caux maritime), and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Bordeaux).

Most maritime economy activity sectors studied pay more than the average for all sectors of the French economy. The average gross salary difference per full-time equivalent (FTE) is notable between sectors like energy production, maritime and inland public works, or submarine cable manufacturing, installation, and maintenance—requiring high technical skills. Conversely, tourism and seafood sectors offer lower compensation.

This section covers only 100% maritime activity sectors: seafood products, shipbuilding and repair, and maritime and inland transport. Tourism is excluded.

• In 35% of coastal employment zones, traditional maritime economy activities pay workers more than the average for the entire zone economy. • In one out of five coastal employment zones, the gross salary difference between traditional maritime activities and the overall zone economy exceeds 21%. Several of these zones include major industrial-port areas: Dunkerque, Calais, Le Havre, Brest, Marseille, and Toulon.

• Conversely, in 7% of zones, maritime activities pay significantly less (gross salary more than 20% below the zone average). These zones are located in French Guiana (Ouest-Guyanais and Savanes), Martinique (North Atlantic and South Caribbean), and Guadeloupe (Windward Coast). • Among zones where maritime activities' average gross salary is below the overall average for salaried employment, several are aquaculture regions—an activity less remunerative than other sectors studied: Saint-Brieuc, Coutances, Vannes, Rochefort, and La Test-de-Buch.

• Extraction of marine resources: living, mineral, and energy resources. • Exploitation of spaces and physical properties of water and seabeds as resources (renewable and nuclear energy, submarine cable installation, maritime and coastal infrastructure, maritime transport, Navy). • Exploitation of remarkable maritime and coastal sites (tourism, recreation, boating). • Industries using and processing biological resources (seafood products, seaweed). • Manufacturing sectors and services upstream of extractive industries: shipbuilding and repair, boat construction, offshore energy services, maritime and recreation financial services. • Public services: defense, support for maritime activities and maritime workers, marine and coastal environmental protection, marine research and operational oceanography. • Seafood products. • Marine material extraction. • Shipbuilding and repair. • Maritime and inland transport. • Marine insurance. • Maritime and inland public works. • Offshore oil and gas services. • Submarine cable manufacturing, installation, and maintenance. • Energy production. • Public intervention in maritime sectors. • Coastal tourism. • Coastal and marine environmental research and protection. • Flores 2017 (localized file of remuneration and salaried employment) for counting salaried maritime employment, excluding Defense. Flores replaced Clap (local knowledge of productive apparatus) in 2017; its latest available data cover 2015. • Siasp 2017 (information system on public service agents) for Defense shipbuilding. • 2017 Population Census for self-employed maritime workers. • 2017 Tourism Survey, DADS-DSN data (annual social data declaration–nominative social declaration for employees) 2017 and Acoss data (Central Agency for Social Security Bodies: for self-employed) 2017, for coastal tourism employment, mainland only. Coastal tourism employment is calculated using an INSEE model accounting for all 100% tourism jobs and a portion of partially tourism jobs. Limited to coastal areas (coastal employment zones). • Employment zones redefined in 2020 for mainland and overseas departments.

• Author: Data and Statistical Studies Service (SDES). Document produced with statistical and methodological support from INSEE. • Writing date: January 2021, updated.