Insee Première · April 2022 · n° 1898

Wages in the private sector in 2020 Unusual developments due to the health crisis

In 2020, an employee in the private sector earned an average of 2,518 euros net a month per full-time equivalent. In a context where prices only rose a little, the average monthly net wage in constant euros increased by 3.2% in 2020. The magnitude of this increase is misleading: it is more the result of temporary changes in the composition of employment due to the health crisis, than the result of individual salary increases. Thus, if the structure of jobs in terms of occupation, sector of activity and employment conditions (full-time/part-time distribution) had not changed, net wages would have increased by 1.5% only.

If they are not measured in full-time equivalents but compared to the contractual duration of employments, the wages received by employees for their activity decreased. The average net daily wage fell by 4.0% in 2020 in constant euros. However, this fall was offset by the compensations paid for short-time working. Employees' professional incomes increased by 0.8% overall in 2020 after taking into account these compensations.

Women earned on average 15.2% less than men on a full-time equivalent basis. This gap narrowed by 0.9 points compared to 2019 and by 5.7 points since 2008.