Business news ( France ) : Is Sport good for the health of the economy?

The employment grew four times faster in the "field" of sport in other sectors in France since 1990, giving the authorities, ministries and associations in mind, hoping to contribute to their level in the fight against unemployment. 

But if employment in sport is as developed over the past two decades, mainly because it was previously almost nonexistent."The professionalization of the sector is relatively new," says Myriam Antoine, director of sport and society delegation to the National Olympic Committee and French sports (CNOSF). "We saw the show first jobs in the mid 80s through public schemes (subsidized employment). Sector was much higher than today based on volunteerism," still very prominent in the voluntary sector, in particular sports ( 3.5 million in 2011, 1.5 million managers). 

The collective agreement of sport was born in 2005, bringing with it if the end of the Limitation of less opaque, even illegal for reporting earnings. 

Today, the "sector" sport in France is an annual expenditure of 35 billion euros - households, communities, state - and employs more than 200,000 people, if we stick to the definition of ministry which takes into account the activities of clubs, facilities management, education, and manufacturing and trade sporting goods but excludes sports medicine, media, sports agents ...Minister Valérie Fourneyron as CNOSF president Denis Masseglia have made the growth of the political objective, motivated by the accession of a public increasingly wide at the sport. 

Often precarious jobs 

They both are committed mid-February 3500 to create jobs for the future in 2013 and beyond this opening to unskilled youth, reflect simplification of the system of qualifications, mandatory to teach the sport. A jungle sees oppose the state diplomas, certificates issued by branches and federal securities."It is only by simplifying and streamlining access to qualifications that will create the jobs that clubs need" Judge Denis Masseglia. Clubs and really needs: 42% of clubs 264,700 (including 48,500 employers already) surveyed in 2011 were willing to recruit. A boon in terms of jobs, even if they are often precarious, part-time or suffered CSD (72,000 to 165,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the industry!)Beyond associations, the commercial sector is also creating jobs, even if its growth suffers more than the voluntary sector, the economic crisis and declining purchasing power. 

"Yes, this sector has a high growth potential," says Philippe Joffard, Chairman of MEDEF sport, "but we have a knowledge of the sports economy very limited." Sports committee of the employers' organization has also been founded only three years ago, proof that the sport was long neglected. At all levels.Primault Didier, director general of the center of economy, also believes that "we must be careful because there are delayed effects of the crisis on local authorities who are the first donors to the sport." "There is the future, no doubt, to the economy of sport, but it is not the deposit miraculous job talking about some," he said.


( french source AFP )