13 September 2019
2019- n° 238In Q2 2019, the labour cost index - wages and salaries decreased by 1.2%, the total
labour cost index decreased by 0.5% Labor cost index in industry, construction and services - second quarter 2019
In the second quarter of 2019, the labour cost index (LCI) - wages and salaries in the non-farm business sector accelerated sharply : –1.2% quarter on quarter, after +1.8% in Q1 2019 (seasonally adjusted data). Without the special bonus for purchasing power (PEPA) it would have risen by 0.7% in the second quarter after having remained almost stable in the first quarter (–0.1%).
- On 1st January 2019, the tax credit encouraging competitiveness and jobs (CICE) was transformed into a permanent reduction in employers’ social contributions of an equivalent amount. In concrete terms, this means abolishing the tax credit as such, and creating a uniform 6-point reduction in the rate of employers' social contributions applicable to salaries up to a maximum of 2.5 times the minimum wage (the rate reduction, as well as the base, are equal to those of the CICE in metropolitan France before its abolition). This transformation is neutral on the labour cost index.
- As part of the economic and social emergency measures adopted by the French Parliament in December 2018, firms might pay a special bonus for purchasing power (PEPA) in the first quarter of 2019, to employees earning less than 3 times the minimal wage. This bonus, which is free of income tax and social contribution up to 1000 euros, boosted the labour cost index – wages and salaries by 1.9 points and the total labour cost index by 1.3 points only in Q1 2019. These estimations have been slightly revised upwards since the 14th of June release.
- Following the merger of the supplementary pension schemes AGIRC and ARRCO, the corresponding social contribution rates were modified on 1st January 2019, increasing by 0.3 points the total labour cost index.
- The wages and salary costs decreased by 1.2%
- Wages declined sharply in industry and construction, a little more softly in services
- Upward revision of LCI – wages and salaries in Q1 2019
- The total labour cost index decreased by 0.5%
- Upward revision of LCI – total labour cost in Q1 2019
- For futher information
The wages and salary costs decreased by 1.2%
In the second quarter of 2019, the labour cost index (LCI) - wages and salaries in the non-farm business sector accelerated sharply : –1.2% quarter on quarter, after +1.8% in Q1 2019 (seasonally adjusted data). Without the special bonus for purchasing power (PEPA) it would have risen by 0.7% in the second quarter after having remained almost stable in the first quarter (–0.1%).
Year on year, the LCI – wages and salaries rose by 1.5%, an increase sharply lower than in the first quarter (+3.1%, this dynamism was explained by the payment of the Pepa bonus) and slightly lower than in the fourth quarter of 2018 (+2.0%). The average working time slightly increased in the second quarter (+0.3% y-o-y).
tableauLCI - wages and salaries: Year-on-year changes
| Total | Industry | Construction | Services | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-Q1 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 1.5 |
| 2012-Q2 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 2.1 |
| 2012-Q3 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| 2012-Q4 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| 2013-Q1 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
| 2013-Q2 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| 2013-Q3 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| 2013-Q4 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.1 |
| 2014-Q1 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.2 |
| 2014-Q2 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.5 |
| 2014-Q3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
| 2014-Q4 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| 2015-Q1 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| 2015-Q2 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
| 2015-Q3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
| 2015-Q4 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| 2016-Q1 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
| 2016-Q2 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
| 2016-Q3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 1.1 |
| 2016-Q4 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| 2017-Q1 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 1.5 |
| 2017-Q2 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 1.3 |
| 2017-Q3 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 1.3 |
| 2017-Q4 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 3.7 | 1.6 |
| 2018-Q1 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.3 |
| 2018-Q2 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| 2018-Q3 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 1.8 |
| 2018-Q4 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 2.1 |
| 2019-Q1 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 2.8 |
| 2019-Q2 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
graphiqueLCI - wages and salaries: Year-on-year changes
- Scope: non-agricultural market sector excluding services to households.
- Sources: ACOSS, DARES, INSEE.
Wages declined sharply in industry and construction, a little more softly in services
In Q2 2019, wages in industry fell over the quarter (–1.7% as a result after +2.6% in Q1 2019). Wages in construction also fell (–1.7%) after having risen sharply in Q1 2019 (+3.0%). In Q2 2019, wages in services decreased more softly quarter on quarter (–0.9%) but the rise in the first quarter was less sharp than in the other sectors (+1.4%). The wages decreased more sharply in the sectors where more PEPA bonuses were paid in Q1 2019 : Financial and insurance activities (–2.6% after 2,8% in the first quarter), real estate activities (–1.5% after +1.2%) and transportation and storage (–1.6% after +1.5%).
tableauLCI - wages & salaries
| Quarterly variations (%) | Yearly variations(%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1-2019 | Q2-2019 | Q1-2019 | Q2-2019 | |
| Industry | 2.6 | -1.7 | 3.6 | 1.6 |
| Mining and quarrying | 4.7 | -1.9 | 6.6 | 2.9 |
| Manufacturing | 2.6 | -1.7 | 3.6 | 1.5 |
| Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply | 1.1 | -2.0 | 1.5 | 1.3 |
| Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities | 4.7 | -1.0 | 6.4 | 4.0 |
| Services | 1.4 | -0.9 | 2.8 | 1.5 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 1.9 | -1.0 | 3.0 | 1.8 |
| Transportation and storage | 1.5 | -1.6 | 2.6 | 0.6 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 1.6 | -1.0 | 2.5 | 1.1 |
| Information and communication | 1.2 | -1.1 | 2.1 | 0.7 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 2.8 | -2.6 | 4.5 | 1.5 |
| Real estate activities | 1.2 | -1.5 | 4.1 | 2.2 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | -0.4 | -0.7 | 1.7 | 0.4 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 1.2 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 3.0 |
| Construction | 3.0 | -1.7 | 5.2 | 2.1 |
| TOTAL | 1.8 | -1.2 | 3.1 | 1.5 |
- Scope: non-agricultural market sector excluding services to households
- Sources: ACOSS, DARES, INSEE
Upward revision of LCI – wages and salaries in Q1 2019
In comparison to the previous release of 14th of June, the Q1 2019 quarterly variation in LCI - wages and salaries in the non-farm business sector has been revised upwards by 0.3 percentage points, mostly due to revisions of payroll data; the year-over-year variation has been revised up upwards by 0.2 percentage points.
The total labour cost index decreased by 0.5%
In the second quarter of 2019, the total labour cost index in the non-farm business sector decreased over the quarter : –0.5% after +1.4% in the first quarter – seasonally adjusted data. Without the PEPA bonus, it would have risen by 0.8 % after having remained stable in the previous quarter. It increased by 1.9% over the year, a slower pace than in the previous quarters (+2.9% in Q1 2019 and +2.7% in Q4 2018).
tableauLCI - total labour cost: year-on-year changes
| Total | Industry | Construction | Services | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-Q1 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 1.7 |
| 2012-Q2 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 2.3 |
| 2012-Q3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.4 |
| 2012-Q4 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| 2013-Q1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| 2013-Q2 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| 2013-Q3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| 2013-Q4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| 2014-Q1 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.4 |
| 2014-Q2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| 2014-Q3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | -0.1 | 0.4 |
| 2014-Q4 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| 2015-Q1 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| 2015-Q2 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| 2015-Q3 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| 2015-Q4 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
| 2016-Q1 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| 2016-Q2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 1.0 |
| 2016-Q3 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 0.7 |
| 2016-Q4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
| 2017-Q1 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 0.3 |
| 2017-Q2 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 0.6 |
| 2017-Q3 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 0.7 |
| 2017-Q4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 1.3 |
| 2018-Q1 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 1.8 |
| 2018-Q2 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| 2018-Q3 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 2.6 |
| 2018-Q4 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 2.9 |
| 2019-Q1 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 2.7 |
| 2019-Q2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 2.0 |
graphiqueLCI - total labour cost: year-on-year changes
- Scope: non-agricultural market sector excluding services to households.
- Sources: ACOSS, DARES, INSEE.
Upward revision of LCI – total labour cost in Q1 2019
The Q1 2019 quarter-on-quarter variation in total labour cost index in the non-farm business sector has been revised upwards by 0.2 percentage points and the year-over-year variation has been revised upwards by 0.1 percentage points.
tableauLCI - total labour cost
| Quarterly variations (%) | Yearly variations (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1-2019 | Q2-2019 | Q1-2019 | Q2-2019 | |
| Industry | 2.1 | -1.1 | 3.2 | 1.8 |
| Mining and quarrying | 4.1 | -1.1 | 6.1 | 3.1 |
| Manufacturing | 2.0 | -1.0 | 3.2 | 1.7 |
| Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply | 1.1 | -1.7 | 1.4 | 1.5 |
| Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities | 4.3 | -0.4 | 6.2 | 4.3 |
| Services | 1.1 | -0.2 | 2.7 | 2.0 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 1.6 | -0.4 | 3.1 | 2.3 |
| Transportation and storage | 1.0 | -1.1 | 2.4 | 0.8 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 1.6 | 0.2 | 2.8 | 2.4 |
| Information and communication | 1.1 | -0.6 | 2.0 | 1.1 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 1.9 | -1.3 | 3.5 | 1.9 |
| Real estate activities | 0.7 | -0.8 | 3.8 | 2.6 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | -0.5 | -0.2 | 1.6 | 0.8 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 3.5 |
| Construction | 2.4 | -1.0 | 4.5 | 2.2 |
| TOTAL | 1.4 | -0.5 | 2.9 | 1.9 |
- Scope: non-agricultural market sector excluding services to households
- Sources: ACOSS, DARES, INSEE
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