The minimum wage will rise again, driven by the breath of inflation. And this without waiting for the purchasing power bill that the government is preparing. The automatic revaluation formula will be activated as last May, provides INSEE. The next increase will occur either on August 1 or September 1.
The Smic 1500 euros net? This measure, demanded by the left gathered under the label Nupes in the legislative elections, will very likely return with insistence to Parliament during the examination of the purchasing power bill, which promises to be a movement in the face of a fragmented Assembly.
But without waiting for a government boost, the Smic will once again increase automatically. The usual revaluation occurs each year on January 1st but, apart from this annual chance, the minimum wage increases mechanically if inflation gallops. However, it should reach 5.9% over one year at the end of June, INSEE announced on Friday.
More concretely, the formula is triggered when the inflation suffered by the 20% of the poorest population (we are talking about the first quintile) climbs from more than 2% in the space of a few months. It is this mechanism that applied during the last increase in the minimum wage last May, based on the consumer price index (CPI) for March 2022.
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Either August 1 or September 1, 2022
However, the consumer price index (CPI) of the first quintile is already close to a 2% increase since this last exceptional increase. Between March 2022, the month chosen for this revaluation of 1,302 euros net (1,645.58 euros gross), and June 2022, INSEE forecasts inflation of around 2% for this most modest segment of the population.
The measurement of the June CPI delivered by INSEE this Friday on the occasion of the presentation of its quarterly economic report being provisional, the head of the economic affairs department Julien Pouget admits that he is unable to anticipate the month when this formula automatic will apply: Or from August 1st if [l’IPC de ce 1er quintile] exceeds 2% in June, compared to March; i.e. September 1 if it does not exceed this 2% until a month later, in July.
Net minimum wage: approximately +26euros to anticipate
What increase should we anticipate? It will be at least 2%, by strict application of the formula, or very slightly above 2%. With the net minimum wage standing at 1,302 euros net since May 2022, a further 2% increase would bring it approximately 1328 euros net, or slightly more, in the heart of summer or for the start of the school year. On the payslips, this increase will therefore probably materialize at the end of August or the end of September.
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