The minimum wage could be revalued from 0.5% to 0.6% at 1er January 2022. This is what emerges from the report of a group of experts which was sent on Monday, November 29, to the social partners and that The world was able to consult. At this stage, this is only an estimate, the exact percentage to be decided in the coming days by the executive. His choice will be watched with redoubled attention, in a context of increased inflation which feeds wage demands within companies and propels the theme of purchasing power to the fore of the presidential campaign.
Every year, a few days before Christmas, the public authorities determine the amount of the minimum wage to apply from 1er following january. The texts provide for this to increase at least once every twelve months, taking into account two variables: inflation excluding tobacco (as measured for the 20% of the lowest-income households) and half of the annual increase in the purchasing power of the basic hourly wage of workers and employees (SHBOE). The State has, moreover, the possibility of going beyond this mechanism by giving a “helping hand”. To express its opinion, it has a report, submitted at the end of each fall by a committee of researchers chaired by the economist Gilbert Cette.
Today, this ritual takes place in a somewhat particular context because the minimum wage was increased by 2.2% on the 1ster October, to reach just over 1,589.47 euros gross per month (for a full-time). This is the first time since 2011 that an increase, known as “Infra-annual”, has been decided. It results from another rule, according to which the minimum wage must be raised during the year when the price index for the 20% of the poorest families increases by at least 2% over a period known as ” reference “, which had been the case at the start of the second semester.
“Unstable” crisis exit
Regarding the increase in 1er January 2022, the expert group recommends, as in previous years, “To refrain from any help” : in other words, we should not be more generous than the automatic revaluation formula, based on inflation and SHBOE. In this hypothesis, the gain would be small: between a little less than 8 and some 9.5 euros gross per month.
To justify this moderation, the committee chaired by Gilbert Ce invokes “Considerations” identical to those he developed in his report last year. The end of the crisis proving “Very progressive” and “Unstable”, it is better to give priority to “The consolidation of strong recent job creations” in relation to the pay slip. In addition, the French economy remains fragile, with a rate of “Unemployment still very high” (8.1% in the third trimester) and a “Low competitiveness”, as our trade balance proves “Continuously” in the red ” since 2006 “. Finally, too much support for the minimum wage would risk working to the detriment of the employment of people whose remuneration is at this level. However, they often find themselves in vulnerable situations and work in low-skilled trades.
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