On Thursday, April 2nd, the Apec (Association for Executive Employment) unveiled a study conducted in 2025 on the executive job market in the region. The first observation is that, considering its demographic and economic weight, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté only accounts for 2% of executives identified by Insee in France last year. This is far behind the leading region, Île-de-France, where 45% of working executives in the country are located.
Out of the approximately 81,430 executives identified in our region, there were 22,210 in Côte-d’Or, 17,760 in Doubs, and 14,580 in Saône-et-Loire. However, only 4,000 were in Haute-Saône and 3,960 in Nièvre. On a regional scale, their average age was 44 and two-thirds of them were men (65%, compared to 35% of women). Another insight is that over half of them worked in a very small business or a small and medium-sized enterprise: 54% in Côte-d’Or, 59% in Saône-et-Loire, and even 72% in Jura. Lastly, regionally, nearly a third of them belonged to the industrial sector.
A significant decrease in net job creations
In terms of recruitment, the Apec counted 5,810 executive hires in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in 2025. This number represents a slight decrease compared to 2024 (-1%) and falls short of the record in 2023 (6,220 hires). While the data is not broken down by department, it is noted that 61% of these positions were located in the Burgundy part of the larger region. However, the number of net job creations drastically dropped in one year, from 1,740 creations in 2024 to 1,230 in 2025. The commerce and marketing sector stood out as the most dynamic, accounting for 23% of these new positions.
Struggles in the industry
“The executive job market slightly contracted in 2025 in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. However, this decline is less severe than the national average (-3%),” commented Hervé Reynier, the regional delegate of the Apec. According to him, “this decrease in activity is notably linked to the industry, particularly in mechanics and metallurgy”. He specified that “regional companies foresee a similar number of recruitments for 2026, with 5,810 executive hires”. However, he cautioned that “this forecast should be considered cautiously, given the current geopolitical uncertainties and fluctuations.”
