The minimum wage has never been so much in the spotlight, yet the majority of French people feel that their paychecks are being eroded month after month, euro after euro. Since 2019, the average salary in France has increased more slowly than inflation, undermining households’ real capacity to consume. Despite regular increases in the minimum wage, the gap between median salaries and the prices of essential goods has widened.
Productivity is stagnating, limiting the room for potential wage increases without impacting employment. Some sectors show increases, but most workers experience a tangible loss of purchasing power, even in the presence of exceptional bonuses or one-off measures.
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French salaries and inflation: what is the real state of purchasing power today?
Purchasing power is at the forefront, fueled by the regular publication of figures from INSEE and Dares. For the past three years, inflation has been eroding wage growth, disrupting the trajectory of the basic monthly salary in the private sector. Specifically, the evolution of the average salary, in constant euros, reveals a stark reality: the surge in consumer prices, first boosted by the health crisis and then by the war in Ukraine, has overshadowed wage adjustments. The net salary received each month no longer covers as many expenses as it did yesterday.
INSEE data places the average net monthly salary around 2250 euros. However, the median is lower. This gap between statistical averages and real life fuels a sense of downward mobility in households. According to Eric Heyer, an economist at OFCE, the activity bonus and value-sharing bonuses like the “Macron bonuses” only partially cushion the rise in prices. Social contributions, still present on the gross salary, continue to reduce the actual amount received. Many are then asking the very concrete question of converting a salary of 1850 gross to net, as the difference between gross and net weighs heavily each month, and more than ever, in the perception of purchasing power.
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Successive increases orchestrated by the state are overshadowed by a continuous rise in consumer prices. One-off aids are multiplying, but the perception of purchasing power remains largely degraded for many employees. Today, the salary no longer guarantees an upward trajectory of living standards, and behind redistribution measures, inequalities persist.
Between productivity, employment, and daily reality: what the figures reveal about household life
The national averages of the net hourly wage in France never fully reflect the reality experienced by households. Between the employee, the worker, and the manager, the payslip tells nothing of the difficult choices, the trade-offs, the silent efforts behind every euro spent. Productivity, a notion brandished in debates, pales in comparison to the pressure of prices on daily life.
The salary median around 2000 euros net per month masks enormous disparities. The basic hourly wage of workers and employees (SHBOE) is exhausted under the weight of fixed costs. Intermediate professions see their negotiating power erode, while precariousness increases in parts of the tertiary sector or construction. Even industry, long a driver of productivity, is feeling the pressure on remunerations.
Here is what we observe today, through statistics and ground realities:
- Bonuses, whether related to value sharing or one-off schemes, do not erase the gap that remains between average salary and everyday prices.
- For the same position, the gap between male and female salaries remains, and redistribution is not enough to eliminate it.
- For apprentices and young people making their first steps in the job market, the entry is tough, and the gap with the European average remains significant.
Redistribution through social benefits or income tax mitigates some imbalances but does not change anything for those whose income stagnates. From one country to another, comparisons enter discussions, fueling expectations and frustrations. For many, the net salary takes on the role of a compass, constantly compared to that of European neighbors. The question remains how long this compass will continue to point north.