13 March 2020
2020- n° 65In Q4 2019, labour cost index - wages and salaries was flat and total labour cost
index decreased by 0.5% Labor cost index in industry, construction and services - fourth quarter 2019
In the fourth quarter of 2019, the labour cost index (LCI) - wages and salaries in the non-farm business sector slowed down sharply: 0.0% quarter on quarter, after +0.9% in Q3 2019 (seasonally adjusted data).
Year on year, the LCI – wages and salaries rose by 1.1%, a largely lower increase than in the previous quarter (+1.9%). The average working time remained stable in the fourth quarter: 0.0% over the year.
As of 1st October 2019, the employers’ contribution general exemption, consisting in lowering the employers’ social contributions for wages lower than 1.6 times the miminum wage has been extended to the unemployment insurance contribution (with a rate of 4.05%). Thus, the amount of exemptions under this measure increased by 900 million euros in Q4 2019, lowering by 0.5 points the total labour cost index.
- 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 1’000€, 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.
- 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.
- In Q4 2019, labour cost index – wages and salaries slowed down
- Wages slightly increased in industry and construction but were at standstill in services
- No revision of labour cost index – wages and salaries in Q3 2019
- The total labour cost index increased by 0.9%
- The total labour cost index decreased by 0.5%
- For futher information
In Q4 2019, labour cost index – wages and salaries slowed down
In the fourth quarter of 2019, the labour cost index (LCI) - wages and salaries in the non-farm business sector slowed down sharply: 0.0% quarter on quarter, after +0.9% in Q3 2019 (seasonally adjusted data).
Year on year, the LCI – wages and salaries rose by 1.1%, a largely lower increase than in the previous quarter (+1.9%). The average working time remained stable in the fourth quarter: 0.0% over the year.
tableauLCI - wages and salaries: Year-on-year changes
| Total | Industry | Construction | Services | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-Q1 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 1.6 |
| 2012-Q2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 2.0 |
| 2012-Q3 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| 2012-Q4 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| 2013-Q1 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
| 2013-Q2 | 2.4 | 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 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
| 2014-Q2 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.5 |
| 2014-Q3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 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 | 0.9 | 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 | 2.4 | 1.1 |
| 2016-Q4 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| 2017-Q1 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 1.5 |
| 2017-Q2 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 1.3 |
| 2017-Q3 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 1.2 |
| 2017-Q4 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 3.7 | 1.6 |
| 2018-Q1 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| 2018-Q2 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| 2018-Q3 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| 2018-Q4 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 2.5 |
| 2019-Q1 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 2.7 |
| 2019-Q2 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.4 |
| 2019-Q3 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 2.0 |
| 2019-Q4 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 1.0 |
graphiqueLCI - wages and salaries: Year-on-year changes
- Scope: non-agricultural market sector excluding services to households.
- Sources: ACOSS, DARES, INSEE.
Wages slightly increased in industry and construction but were at standstill in services
In Q4 2019, wages in industry rose slightly (+0.2% quarter on quarter), less quickly than in Q3 2019 (+0.4%). In construction, wages also increased by 0.2%, but the slowdown is more pronounced: this rise came after a strong increase in Q3 2019 (+1.4%).
Wages in services were at standstill (–0.1% after +1.0% in Q3 2019), decreasing in particular in transportation and storage (–1.5% after +2.1%) and in financial and insurance activities (–1.5% after +1.3%). Nonetheless, they kept on increasing sharply in other sectors such as administrative and support service activities (+1.0% after +0.7%) or real estate activities (+0.8% after 1.3%).
tableauLCI - wages & salaries
| Quarterly variations (%) | Yearly variations(%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3-2019 | Q4-2019 | Q3-2019 | Q4-2019 | |
| Industry | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| Mining and quarrying | -1.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 3.3 |
| Manufacturing | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
| Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities | 0.1 | -0.7 | 3.8 | 2.2 |
| Services | 1.0 | -0.1 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 1.5 |
| Transportation and storage | 2.1 | -1.5 | 2.8 | 0.6 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.1 |
| Information and communication | 0.9 | -0.4 | 2.5 | 0.8 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 1.3 | -1.5 | 3.1 | -0.7 |
| Real estate activities | 1.3 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 2.0 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 1.2 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 0.1 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.2 |
| Construction | 1.4 | 0.2 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
| TOTAL | 0.9 | 0.0 | 1.9 | 1.1 |
- Scope: non-agricultural market sector excluding services to households
- Sources: ACOSS, DARES, INSEE
No revision of labour cost index – wages and salaries in Q3 2019
In comparison to the previous release of 13th December 2019, the Q3 2019 quarterly and yearly variations in LCI - wages and salaries in the non-farm business sector remained unchanged.
The total labour cost index increased by 0.9%
In the fourth quarter of 2019, the total labour cost index in the non-farm business sector declined over the quarter: –0.5% after +0.9% in the third quarter – seasonally adjusted data. This evolution in Q4 2019 is lower by 0.5 points than the one of the labour cost index – wages and salaries. Such a deviation can be explained by the extension of the employers’ contribution general exemption to the unemployment insurance contribution as of 1st October 2019. This extension results in an increase in the amount of contribution exemptions, nearly 900 million euros in Q4 2019.
Over the year, the total labour cost index increased by 0.8%, a sharply lower pace than in the third quarter (+2.2%).
tableauLCI - total labour cost: year-on-year changes
| Total | Industry | Construction | Services | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-Q1 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 |
| 2012-Q2 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| 2012-Q3 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.4 |
| 2012-Q4 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| 2013-Q1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| 2013-Q2 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| 2013-Q3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| 2013-Q4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.1 | 0.3 |
| 2014-Q1 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 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 | 0.8 | 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 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| 2016-Q2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 1.0 |
| 2016-Q3 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 0.6 |
| 2016-Q4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
| 2017-Q1 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 0.3 |
| 2017-Q2 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 0.6 |
| 2017-Q3 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 0.7 |
| 2017-Q4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 1.3 |
| 2018-Q1 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 2.1 |
| 2018-Q2 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
| 2018-Q3 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
| 2018-Q4 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 3.4 |
| 2019-Q1 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 2.6 |
| 2019-Q2 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| 2019-Q3 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 2.4 |
| 2019-Q4 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 0.7 |
graphiqueLCI - total labour cost: year-on-year changes
- Scope: non-agricultural market sector excluding services to households.
- Sources: ACOSS, DARES, INSEE.
The total labour cost index decreased by 0.5%
The Q3 2019 quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year variation in total labour cost index in the non-farm business sector remained unchanged.
tableauLCI - total labour cost
| Quarterly variations (%) | Yearly variations (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3-2019 | Q4-2019 | Q3-2019 | Q4-2019 | |
| Industry | 0.4 | -0.2 | 1.8 | 1.1 |
| Mining and quarrying | -1.3 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 3.3 |
| Manufacturing | 0.4 | -0.2 | 1.8 | 1.2 |
| Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
| Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities | 0.1 | -1.0 | 4.1 | 2.0 |
| Services | 1.0 | -0.6 | 2.4 | 0.7 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 0.5 | -0.6 | 2.3 | 0.9 |
| Transportation and storage | 2.1 | -1.7 | 3.0 | 0.2 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 0.4 | -1.0 | 0.9 | -0.2 |
| Information and communication | 0.9 | -0.5 | 2.9 | 1.0 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 1.3 | -1.7 | 3.5 | -0.5 |
| Real estate activities | 1.3 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 2.0 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 1.2 | -0.2 | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Construction | 1.4 | -0.7 | 2.7 | 2.0 |
| TOTAL | 0.9 | -0.5 | 2.2 | 0.8 |
- Scope: non-agricultural market sector excluding services to households
- Sources: ACOSS, DARES, INSEE
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