recruitment agency and headhunters in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
your next hire in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in good hands.
We combine our data, our sector experts and our AI algorithms to hand your role to the headhunter with the most placements in that field, from the Basque Country to the Béarn.
- no setup fees, pay on hire
- guaranteed replacement
- hire signed in under 26 days
they hire with muzzo
how do you hire a manager in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques through a recruitment agency?
From the port of Bayonne to the Béarn's industrial sites, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques span two clearly distinct France Travail employment areas. Muzzo hands your role to the headhunter with the most placements in that field, in the right area. You set the fee, from 5 to 30%, paid on hire; guaranteed replacement if your new hire leaves within 3 months.
one last question?
With Muzzo, you set the fee for each role, between 5 and 30%, and you only pay it once you hire. No retainer, no fixed fees. The fee follows the difficulty of the role and the area concerned, and the Muzzo team helps you set it.
You have a double guarantee. If your new hire leaves within 3 months, we restart the search at no cost. If we don't find a replacement within 4 months, we refund 50% of the fees. On average, 94% of Muzzo hires are still in post after 3 months.
our headhunters are ready to recruit for you in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
A hire signed in under 26 days. You only pay when you hire.
the reality
the Pyrénées-Atlantiques has two areas, two economies
two areas tracked separately by France Travail
The department has two distinct employment areas: the Basque Country and the Béarn. The first lives off the port of Bayonne, tourism and the board sports industry, the second off energy and aerospace. The same agency doesn't cover both with the same results.
the Basque Country hires with more difficulty than the Béarn
52.5% of hiring plans in the Basque Country employment area are rated difficult by employers, against 51.2% in the Béarn. Tourism and hospitality weigh heavily on this strain.
strong seasonality on the Basque Country side
45.4% of hiring plans in the Basque Country employment area are seasonal, against 30.5% in the Béarn. A permanent role, outside tourist peaks, is hired differently.
the roles
the profiles our headhunters find for you in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
From the Basque Country to the Béarn, each role goes to a headhunter who knows that field.
site leadership and commercial leadership
Industrial site director, regional sales director, hospitality site manager. The headhunter approaches executives in post, discreetly, from the Basque Country to the Béarn.
engineering and industrial maintenance
Methods engineer, quality engineer, maintenance technician. The Béarn's industrial sites and the Basque Country's equipment makers compete for these profiles.
port logistics and food industry
Operations manager, buyer, food-industry quality manager. The port of Bayonne and the companies around it hire these roles continuously.
hospitality, catering and tourism
Site director, catering manager, tourism operations manager. On the Basque Coast, these roles are hired months ahead of the season.
sales and key accounts
Sales engineer, key account manager, sales manager. The headhunter checks what the person has genuinely signed, from the Béarn to the Basque Country.
finance and financial control
CFO, financial controller, administrative and finance manager. Functions present in both the department's industrial SMEs and its tourism groups.
the method
one headhunter per role, not one firm for everything
We have tracked every headhunter since November 2020, on three criteria: how many hires they make, the quality of their profiles, their speed.
you describe the role
You fill in the form, then we talk it through: the job, the workplace in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, the salary. You set the fee, between 5 and 30%.
we choose the headhunters
From more than 2,500 selected headhunters, we keep those who make the most placements in your field.
you meet the right profiles
The headhunters approach and check every profile. You receive fewer CVs, but ones that match.
you only pay if you hire
Nothing to pay upfront. No fixed fees, no deposit.
the figures
the Pyrénées-Atlantiques job market in figures
source: Insee, full statistical profile of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department (opens a new window), 2023 data
source: Insee, full statistical profile of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department (opens a new window), 2023 data
source: France Travail, BMO 2026 survey, Pyrénées-Atlantiques (opens a new window), 2026 data
source: France Travail, BMO 2026 survey, Basque Country employment area (opens a new window), 2026 data
Pyrénées-Atlantiques: the towns with the most jobs
The 30 towns with the most salaried jobs, out of 545 in the department.
region: Nouvelle-Aquitaine
| rank | town | salaried jobs | employer establishments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pau | 48,658 | 3,369 |
| 2 | Bayonne | 32,900 | 2,740 |
| 3 | Anglet | 17,558 | 2,080 |
| 4 | Biarritz | 11,729 | 2,067 |
| 5 | Lons | 7,876 | 702 |
| 6 | Saint-Jean-de-Luz | 7,041 | 1,115 |
| 7 | Lescar | 6,175 | 548 |
| 8 | Hendaye | 5,835 | 586 |
| 9 | Serres-Castet | 5,814 | 360 |
| 10 | Oloron-Sainte-Marie | 5,602 | 537 |
see the next 20 towns
| rank | town | salaried jobs | employer establishments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Orthez | 4,959 | 524 |
| 12 | Bidart | 4,109 | 525 |
| 13 | Bordes | 3,669 | 66 |
| 14 | Billère | 2,973 | 324 |
| 15 | Mourenx | 2,615 | 181 |
| 16 | Morlaàs | 2,595 | 257 |
| 17 | Cambo-les-Bains | 2,554 | 207 |
| 18 | Urrugne | 2,492 | 388 |
| 19 | Mouguerre | 2,436 | 186 |
| 20 | Jurançon | 2,256 | 203 |
| 21 | Saint-Pierre-d'Irube | 2,024 | 242 |
| 22 | Hasparren | 1,770 | 246 |
| 23 | Lacq | 1,752 | 66 |
| 24 | Lahonce | 1,718 | 113 |
| 25 | Artix | 1,668 | 164 |
| 26 | Idron | 1,609 | 158 |
| 27 | Saint-Palais | 1,595 | 201 |
| 28 | Mauléon-Licharre | 1,447 | 201 |
| 29 | Salies-de-Béarn | 1,402 | 183 |
| 30 | Ustaritz | 1,398 | 209 |
source: Insee, Flores 2024 (opens a new window), salaried jobs and employer establishments at the end of December 2024, public and private sectors.
Insee does not validate town-level data one by one: treat small numbers with caution.
hiring in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques: what you need to know
why choose a recruitment agency by area in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques?
The Pyrénées-Atlantiques spans two employment areas tracked separately by France Travail: the Basque Country and the Béarn. An agency that knows the market around Pau well doesn't necessarily know Bayonne's, from food processing to tourism.
Rather than one agency for the whole department, Muzzo hands each role to whichever of our 2,500 selected headhunters gets the best results in that specific field, in the relevant area.
what sets the Basque Country apart from the Béarn for employment?
According to France Travail, the Basque Country employment area (partial figures on the Pyrénées-Atlantiques side) has 14,960 hiring plans forecast for 2026, 52.5% rated difficult and 45.4% seasonal. The Béarn area, centred on Pau, has 12,680, with 51.2% difficulty and 30.5% seasonality.
This seasonality gap comes from tourism and food processing on the Basque coast, while the Béarn lives more off industry and business services, fields hired all year round.
which industries hire around Bayonne and Anglet?
The port of Bayonne handled 2.3 million tonnes of cargo in 2023, up 12.2% year on year, making it the 13th-largest commercial port in France: exports of maize, imports of sulphur, fertiliser, wood and steel. Biarritz-Pays Basque airport, three quarters of whose runway sits on the town of Anglet, welcomed 935,404 passengers in 2025.
In Anglet, the Olatu business incubator, created in 2012 by the Chamber of Commerce and run by ESTIA Entreprendre, hosts board sports and outdoor companies across 2,300 sqm, alongside the European EuroSIMA cluster. An ecosystem born from surfing, now a genuine economic sector on the Basque Coast.
how do you choose a recruitment agency in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques?
First check that the agency has already placed candidates in your field and your area: a headhunter used to Béarn's industrial managers doesn't necessarily know the codes of coastal tourism or the board sports industry.
At Muzzo, we have tracked every headhunter since November 2020, on number of hires, quality of profiles and speed. Your role goes to whichever one makes the most placements in that field, in the right area.
how much does a recruitment agency cost in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques?
Agencies in the department most often charge a percentage of annual gross salary, sometimes with a retainer at launch. A leadership role or a sharp industrial profile costs more to fill than an administrative one.
With Muzzo, you set the fee yourself, between 5 and 30%, based on the priority of the role. Nothing is due before the hire: no retainer, no fixed fees.
how do our headhunters hire in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques?
The headhunter assigned to your role knows the relevant area and the companies already hiring there in that field. They approach profiles already in post directly, rather than waiting for applications.
On average, a Muzzo hire is signed in 26 days. If your new hire leaves within 3 months, we restart the search at no cost.
your questions about hiring in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Yes, a little over half of hiring plans are rated difficult by employers: 52.5% in the Basque Country employment area and 51.2% in the Béarn area, out of 27,640 hiring plans forecast for 2026 in the department (France Travail, BMO 2026).
Yes. The Basque Country area is more seasonal (45.4% of plans, against 30.5% in the Béarn) and geared towards tourism, the port and board sports. The Béarn stays more industrial and service-based. Our headhunters know the market specific to each of the two areas.
According to Apec, accounting and software development top the cadre job postings in Nouvelle-Aquitaine (5% each), ahead of medicine (3%). Apec forecasts 13,850 managerial hires in the region in 2026, a stable level.