Barnier government: what will be the next minimum wage amount with the announced 2% increase from November 1st ?

The minimum wage will be increased by 2% on November 1, announced the Prime Minister during his general policy speech on Tuesday, October 1.

“We will increase the minimum wage by 2% from November 1, in anticipation of the date of January 1”, announced the Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, on Tuesday during his general policy statement before the National Assembly.

“There are still professional sectors in our country in which the minimum wages are lower than the minimum wage, this is not acceptable and this will be the subject of rapid negotiations”, added the head of government, who cited among his five priority projects that of the “standard of living of the French”.

25 sectors, or 15% of the total, had a salary scale including at least one coefficient lower than the minimum wage at the start of 2024, according to the Ministry of Labor.

“In addition, it has now been demonstrated that our system of reducing charges slows the rise in wages above the SMIC: we will see it again", continued the head of government.

With the revaluation of the minimum wage announced "in advance" by Mr. Barnier, the monthly net SMIC would thus be increased to approximately 1,426 euros net, compared to 1,398.70 euros currently.

A mechanical increase every January 1st

In France, the minimum wage is the only salary indexed to inflation. It benefits each year from a mechanical increase on January 1st and revaluations also occur during the year as soon as inflation exceeds 2%.

The government can choose to go beyond the automatic increase by “a boost”, but there has not been one since 2012. In this case, the Prime Minister announced an “anticipation”.

This anticipation includes “November and December, therefore in principle there will be no significant revaluation in January except for a boost beyond what is prescribed by the legal rules”, economist Stéphane Carcillo, president of the expert group on the minimum wage, explained to AFP.

Eight increases since January 2021

The minimum wage has increased eight times since January 2021, including four times during the year due to inflation. The last revaluation was on January 1.

The unions, which met with the Prime Minister last week, include wage increases among their demands. The CGT, FSU and Solidaires are demonstrating on Tuesday so that the government "meets social demands", particularly on these wage issues.

The number of employees paid the minimum wage has increased sharply in France. As of January 1, 2023, 17.3% of employees were affected. As the minimum wage increases faster than the rest of the wages, certain branch minima are being caught up. The branches are thus regularly reminded to order by the government.

The exemptions, maximum at the level of the minimum wage, introduced to support employment, are today accused by some economists of slowing down wage growth by creating “low wage traps”. This is the reason why Mr. Barnier intends to review the contribution reduction system.