Informations Rapides · 17 March 2026 · n° 62

In Q4 2025, hourly wages increased by 1.7% over a year, hourly costs by 2.5% Labour cost index (LCI) - Detailed results - fourth quarter 2025

Hourly wages in the non-agricultural market sector (excluding services to households) accelerated sharply in the fourth quarter of 2025: +1.1% over the quarter, after +0.3% in the last quarter (seasonally and trading day adjusted data). This surge was mainly due to the payments of the Value Sharing Premium (“PPV”), which increased over the quarter (€1.4 billion were paid to the employees, after €0.5 billion in the last quarter) but decreased slighly over a year (€1.5 billion in Q4 2025).

In contrast, the rise in wages moderated over a year in Q4 2025: +1.7%, after +2.0% in the last quarter. This slowdown is part of a trend that has been observed since mid-2023, and reflects the fact that wage negotiations have taken into account inflation that is now moderate: the consumer price index rose by 0.9% over a year in the fourth quarter of 2025, after +1.0% in the previous quarter.

On an annual average basis, for the whole of 2025, hourly wages continued to slow down (+2.1%, after +3.0% in 2024 and +4.1% in 2023) in a context of declining inflation (+0.9%, after +2.0% in 2024 and +4.7% in 2023).

By sector, in Q4 2025, hourly wages decelerated significantly in industry (+2.2% over a year, after +2.8%) and, to a lesser extent, in services (+1.4%, after +1.7%), while they accelerated sharply in construction (+2.6%, after +1.8%).

In the fourth quarter of 2025, hourly labour costs (wages, contributions, and taxes, net of subsidies) in the non-agricultural market sector (excluding services to households) accelerated in line with wages: +1.2% over the quarter, after +0.5% in the previous quarter.

Over a year, hourly labour costs barely accelerated: +2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, after +2.4% in the previous quarter. The gap with wage growth widened: employer social security contribution exemptions, which have been reduced at the beginning of the year, dropped again this quarter, especially the tapered exemptions on low wages, due in part to the 2025 expansion of the tax base to include the payments of the Value Sharing Premium (“PPV”).

By sector, over a year, hourly labour costs accelerated significantly in construction (+4.1%, after +2.6%), while it slowed down in industry (+2.9%, after +3.3%) and its pace was almost stable in services (+2.2%, after +2.1%).

Compared to the flash estimate published on 13 February 2026, the year-on-year change in LCI - hourly wages in the non-agricultural market sector (excluding services to households) in Q4 2025 remained unchanged at +1.7%. However, the one in LCI - hourly costs was revised upwards by 0.2 points at +2.5%. This revision resulted at first from the inclusion of new information related to employer social security contribution exemptions on low wages in december, which were not available for the flash estimate, and whose amounts turned out to be lower than expected.