Insee Première · June 2021 · n° 1861

Wages in the state public service In 2019, all civilian statuses combined, the average net wage was almost stable in real terms

In 2019, an employee in the state public service earned on average 2,599 euros net per month per full-time equivalent. This average includes all civilian public employees in ministries and public institutions, whether or not they were civil servants. In nominal terms (current euros), the average net wage increased by 1.0% in 2019. Adjusted for the price increase, it was almost stable (-0.1%), after it had decreased by 1.2% in 2018.

The average net wage of state civil servants was almost stable in real terms (+0.1%), while that of non-civil servants decreased by 0,3%. Wage disparities increased slightly: the lowest wages decreased in real terms while the highest wages were stable.

Women's net wages were on average 13.6% lower than men's, slightly more than in 2018. With identical characteristics (age, grade, category, part-time work or not and status), the gap was stable at 3.1%.

For employees present throughout both years 2018 and 2019 with the same employer and the same work quota, i.e. two out of three employees in the state public service, the average net wage increased by 1.5% in real terms.