The average wage in France‘s private sector increased by 0.8% last year, to €2,733 per month, following a slowdown in inflation, new data from Insee, the French statistics body has found.
This compares to a 1.0% decline in wages in 2023.
Inflation fell to 2.0% last year, down from the 4.9% rate recorded the previous year, which helped to improve the purchasing power of French employees.
‘In 2024, wages rose evenly across the entire pay scale, unlike in the two preceding years, when increases in the minimum wage preserved the purchasing power of those at the bottom of the distribution, while inflation eroded that of higher wages,’ Insee said in a statement. ‘In this context, wage inequalities stabilised in 2024, after three consecutive years of decline.’
Lowest and highest earners
Half of all private-sector workers earned less than €2,190 per month on a full-time equivalent basis, with the lowest 10% of earners earning less than €1,492 per month.
At the same time, the highest 10% earned more than €4,334 per month, the data showed.
When it comes to take-home pay, the gender gap narrowed slightly in France last year, with women earning, on average, 13% less than men, a reduction of 0.3 percentage points compared to 2023.
Household confidence
Separate data from Insee showed that household confidence rose in October 2025, with the overall indicator rising by two points to 90, however the index remains below its long-term average of 100, measured over the period from 1987 to 2024.
In October, households’ views on their future financial situation improved, the second consecutive month of growth, while opinions on past financial situations remained stable. The proportion of French consumers considering it a good time to make major purchases rose slightly, though again, this falls short of historical levels. Read more here and here.
