Insee Première · June 2023 · n° 1955

Wages in the central civil service  In 2021 the average net salary increased slightly in real terms

In 2021, a central civil service employee earned on average 2,688 euros net per month in full-time equivalent. This average included all state employees in ministries and public institutions, except for hospital civil service and local civil service, whether or not they were on a civil servant status. In nominal terms (current euros), the average net wage increased by 1.8% in 2021. Given the upturn in inflation in 2021 (+1.6% after +0.5%), the average net wage in real terms increased slightly (+0.2%) after a sharp rise in 2020 (+1.0%).

Among the central civil service employees, the average net wage of civil servants increased in real terms by 0.4%. It rose for civil servants in category A by 0.5% but decreased for those in categories B (-0.8%) and C (-0.3%). The increase for category A civil servants was notably linked to the payment of specific bonuses for teachers.

Women's net wages in full-time equivalent were, on average, 13.4% lower than that of male, this gap was lower by 0.4 point compared to 2020. The gap for the same age, grade, category, part-time work or not, status and type of employer was 2.9%, stable compared to 2020.

For employees present throughout both years 2020 and 2021 with the same employer and the same work quota, i.e. two out of three employees in the central civil service, the average net wage increased by 1.5% in real terms.