Is the average salary 2500euros per month, as we often hear? In its annual report, the Inequalities Observatory highlights what employees in France really affect. Explanations.
What is the average salary in France? The answer to this question is not so simple. In its annual report published on Thursday (1), the Inequalities Observatory is interested, among other things, in this subject. Indeed, according to the latest study (2) of the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), the net salary in full-time equivalent in the private sector reached on average 2524 euros per month in 2021, For example. the question what is the average salary in France?, any search engine on the Internet answers 2500euros monthly … It is on this figure that the public debate is based, notes the Observatory.
An average salary of 1800 euros per month
However, if we calculate the average of what the salaries affect, we arrive 1800 euros per month (given Insee 2019) . This figure – which INSEE calls “wage income” – includes the remuneration of full-time employees, but also part-time employees, as well as people who have only worked a few months in the year. Reasoning in full-time equivalent makes sense, but measuring wage income makes it possible to better understand the levels of remuneration at work, underlines the Observatory.
As a result, by scrutinizing the data in the table below, which are based on 2019 figures from Insee, the Observatory notes that 10% of employees receive a maximum of 234 euros per month. In most cases, these are women on forced part-time work and young people who are very often hired on short-term contracts.
| Frames | occupations intermediaries | Employees | Workers | Together | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% receive less than… | 984 | 529 | 147 | 185 | 234 |
| 25% receive less than… | 2186 | 1362 | 503 | 658 | 823 |
| 50% receive less than… | 3054 | 2000 | 1231 | 1417 | 1612 |
| 75% receive less than… | 4166 | 2513 | 1697 | 1863 | 2314 |
| 90% receive less than… | 5905 | 3061 | 2137 | 2276 | 3285 |
Reading: 10% of executives receive a maximum of 203 euros per month of net salary.
Source: Insee — Data 2019
50% of employees have less than 1612 euros per month
This report notes that half of the employees have less than 1612euros per month. Among employees, half is below 1231 euros and 50% of workers receive less than 1417 euros. Finally, at the top of the distribution, 10% receive more than 3285 euros. Among executives, this threshold of the 10% best paid is 5905 euros, among employees, 2137 euros, writes the report.
Full-time reasoning makes it possible to compare employees on the same basis of working time. In the table below, the wages of part-time workers are therefore counted on the basis of what their amount would be for 35 hours. And suddenly, the salary levels are higher.
| Net monthly salaries in euros per 10% bracket in full-time equivalent | Salary in euros |
|---|---|
| 10% of employees earn less than… | 1366 |
| 20%… | 1520 |
| 30%… | 1664 |
| 40%.. | 1825 |
| 50%… | 2012 |
| 60%… | 2243 |
| 70%… | 2558 |
| 80%… | 3041 |
| 10% earn more than… | 4010 |
| 5%… | 5211 |
| 1%… | 9602 |
| Ratio between the top 10% and the bottom 10% | 2.9 |
| difference between the top 10% and the bottom 10% (in euros) | 2644 |
| Ratio between the highest paid 1% and the lowest paid 10% | 7.0 |
| gap between the highest paid 1% and the lowest paid 10% (in euros) | 8236 |
Private salaries. Reading: the 10% of employees with the least pay receive a net monthly salary less than or equal to 1366 euros,
in full-time equivalent.
Source: Insee — Data 2021
No one disputes that a part-time person earns half less than a full-time person. However, the real wage incomes, too neglected in the public debate, reflect the standards of living resulting from work, in particular those of the working classes who are more affected by unemployment and women, more often part-time, analyze the authors of the annual report of the Inequalities Observatory.
If you want to know where you are on the salary scale, a tool put online by the Inequalities Observatory allows you to get a quick answer to this question.
Towards a return of the payment of your salary the week?
(1) 2023 report on inequality in France by the Inequality Observatory
(2) Salaries in the private sector in 2021 published by INSEE