Informations Rapides · 8 August 2025 · n° 199

In Q2 2025, hourly wages increased by 2.0% over a year, hourly costs by 2.2% Labour cost index (LCI) – Flash estimate - second quarter 2025

In the second quarter of 2025, hourly wages in the non-agricultural market sector (excluding services to households) slowed again: +2.0% over a year, after +2.5% in the previous quarter and +2.9% on average in 2024. This slowdown was part of a trend that has been observed since mid-2023, as wage negotiations took account of falling inflation: the consumer price index increased by 0.8% over a year on average in the second quarter of 2025, after +1.1% in the first quarter, +2.0% on annual average in 2024 and +4.9% in 2023. In addition, the payments of the Value Sharing Premium (“PPV”), despite of an increase over a year (€630 million had been paid to employees in the second quarter of 2025, compared with €550 million a year earlier), barely contributed to the growth in hourly wages. Quarter-on-quarter, hourly wages were stable (+0.0%), after remaining virtually unchanged in the previous quarter (+0.1%).

By business sectors, hourly wages sharply slowedin industry (+2.2% over a year in the second quarter of 2025, after +2.8%) and in services (+1.9% over a year, after +2.5%), where they slightly accelerated in construction (+2.5% over a year, after +2.3%).

In the second quarter of 2025, the hourly labour costs (wages and salaries, contributions, taxes net of subsidies) in the non-agricultural market sector (excluding services to households) continued to slow, in line with wages: +2.2% over a year, after +2.7% in the previous quarter. The rise in labour costs over a year remained slightly stronger than the rise in wages, mainly as a result of the reduction in the amounts of apprenticeship aid.