Insee Première · October 2024 · n° 2019

Between 2019 and 2022, salaries growth for “second-line” employees was less favorable

During the Covid-19 health crisis, “second-line” employees (cashiers, agri-food industry workers, cleaners, etc.) continued to work on site, providing services essential to daily life. In 2022, 6.8 million people worked in these professions, representing 29% of private sector employees. Second-line employees were less likely to work full-time, but the gap with other employees has decreased since 2019. They were also less likely to have a permanent contract.

In 2022, these second-line employees received an average of 1,830 euros net per month for a full-time equivalent, slightly less than other employees and industrial and blue-collar workers in the private sector. They benefited more from exceptional bonuses in 2020, the year of the health crisis, but less in subsequent years. Between 2019 and 2022, their average salary fell more (-0.7% in constant euros) than the other employees and industrial and blue-collar workers (-0.2%), against a backdrop of high inflation (+8.6% over the period). Among second-line employees present in 2019, 65% have continued to work in the same job in 2022. For these employees, salary have been increased by 2.5% in constant euros.