Insee Première · October 2024 · n° 2020

Wages in the private sector in 2023: wage increases remain below the inflation

In 2023, a private-sector employee earned an average of 2,735 euros net per month in full-time equivalent (FTE) terms. With inflation still high (+4.9% in 2023, after +5.2% in 2022), the average net wage fell by 0.8% in constant euros, after -1.0% in 2022. In particular, payments of bonuses to support purchasing power fell slightly.

Half of all private sector employees earned less than 2,183 euros net per month in FTE terms. One out of ten employees earned less than 1,512 euros, while one out of ten earned more than 4,302 euros. In 2023, wage purchasing power held up at the lower end of the pay scale, mainly due to increases in the minimum wage, but then fell as you move up the income scale. As a result, wage inequalities have continued to narrow.

On average, women earned 13.5% less than men on a FTE basis. This gap has narrowed by 0.5 points since 2022 and by 7.4 points since 2008.