With galloping inflation and energy prices set to rise further at the start of 2023, employees are in the starting blocks for annual interviews… What increases can they expect?
When increase no longer rhymes with exception. The annual trading season traditionally runs from early December to early February. But this year, employers are not dragging their feet. “There is indeed of companies where annual negotiations have been brought forward to 2022 in the face of inflation. Today many companies try to be proactive on these salary negotiations, observes Franck Chéron, partner at Deloitte and specialist in human resources. This clearly reacts faster in times of crisis. »
Employers do not hesitate either to record a general increase, for all of their employees. For the 11th edition of its annual study on remuneration, the firm People Base CBM interviewed 644 companies and 57.9% of them announce that they will operate a general increase. How many ? At 2.99% on average, the percentage of generalized increase then constituting the minimum boost in these companies.
” The share of general increases is at a particularly high level compared to the years before the crisis “, notes Cyril Brégou, partner of People Base CBM: a little less than 42% of companies were thus inclined to a general increase last year, or 31% in 2019. But beware: Cyril Brégou estimates that this trend “will not be not sustainable”.
The overall increase does not prevent individualized boosts, which affect more than 99% of the companies questioned by this firm. These individual increases (4.25% on average) then concern more than 55% of employees, to varying degrees of course.
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4% overall increase…despite inflation over 6%
This same firm People Base CBM estimates the overall salary increase in 2023 at 4.05%. 4%. This percentage is clearly consensus. Like People Base CBM, the studies produced by Deloitte, Alixio, WTW and even the estimate of the increase in the average per capita salary established by the European Commission all lead to a salary increase forecast of 4% or slightly more.
And this increase is much more homogeneous this year than in the past. “The sectors of energy, finance and pharmaceuticals are generally those which push the most the increases, explains Franck Chéron, of Deloitte. This is again the case but this year it is indeed much more widespread than usual. Even the non-profit sector [associatif, ESS, etc.] foresees increases, on average of 2%, which is unusual. He adds that, “unusually”, the salary increases that non-executives will benefit from will probably be higher than those granted to executives.
This climate conducive to high percentages will not, however, only make people happy. Recruitment firm Robert Half conducted a survey (1) with a panel of employees. And 78% of them would like an increase proportional to inflation. Estimated at 6.2% by INSEE in November 2022, it remains at this stage well above the 4% anticipated for the 2023 increases.
Salary increase 2023: how much can you negotiate in the face of 6% inflation?
(1) “Online survey carried out on November 17, 2022 with a representative panel of 1,000 French employees aged 18 to 55”.