VSE/SME: In the first half of the year, wages increased by an average of 3.1%

Labour Increases were slightly higher for women (3.16%) than for men (3.05%), but pay inequalities remain

A payslip. — iStock/City Press

The figure at the bottom of the payslips is on the rise, making it possible to somewhat limit the loss of purchasing power. Wages in SMEs and very small enterprises (TPE) have indeed increased. by 3.1% between December 2021 and June 2022, according to a barometer published this Wednesday.

The Perspectives circle, which brings together 17 accounting firms, has analyzed more than 430,000 pay slips with the help of the Init research firm and found that in VSEs/SMEs, the average increase in non-managerial salaries, i.e. 3.14%, was stronger than those of the frames, at 2.76%. “Usually, it’s the opposite,” notes Laurent Chapart, president of the Perspectives circle.

Increases “to attract or retain talent” ;

The increases were also slightly stronger for women (3.16 %) than for men (3.05 %), which constitutes “potential to catch up” according to accounting firms, women’s salaries are on average lower than those of men.

This level of wage increase corresponds to approx. that of the inflation observed at the beginning of the year 2022, but the rise in prices has since accelerated sharply, at 6.2% YoY in October. “Some troubled sectors have consented to more efforts to attract or retain talent,” according to the barometer. Accommodation and catering came out on top with a 5.23% wage increase over the period, followed by the transport and warehousing sector (3.68%). At the back of the pack, we find education (2.55%), as well as the health sector. human and social action (2.4 %).

At the geographical level, we are witnessing, according to accountants, a a “gradual alignment with Ile-de-France wages” in SMEs/VSEs. Thus SMEs/VSEs in Hauts-de-France (3.23 %), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (3.20 %), Pays-de-la-Loire (3.22 % ), Brittany (3.17 %) and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (3.17 %) recorded higher wage increases than those in Ile-de-France (2.99 %). “Throughout the Atlantic area, there are a lot of catering and hotel businesses, which must mechanically contribute” to higher wage increases in these regions, explains Laurent Chapart.

Le Cercle Perspectives will publish a new study in February based on the same sample to take into account the increases that will take place at the beginning of 2023, in a context of a deteriorated economic situation but also of persistent tensions on the market; employment.