Purchasing power improves for private sector workers

The average net salary in the private sector gained 1.5% in purchasing power in 2025, according to figures published by Insee on October 22, 2026. This followed a 0.8% increase in 2024. The improvement in purchasing power was not uniform across all salary levels, with higher salaries benefiting more from the decline in inflation.

Average salary details for 2025

In 2025, the average monthly net salary in the private sector reached 2,797 euros in full-time equivalent, compared to 3,693 euros gross. This represented a 2.5% increase in current euros. With the annual inflation rate slowing to 0.9%, the adjusted increase in the average salary was 1.5%. This is the second consecutive year of improvement.

Median salary and salary distribution

However, the average salary does not reflect the situation of the majority of employees. The median salary, which divides the salaries into two groups of the same size, is 2,238 euros net per month. One in ten employees earns less than 1,519 euros, while one in ten earns more than 4,441 euros. The 1% best-paid employees earn 10,552 euros net per month, according to Insee's data.

Understanding full-time equivalent and net salaries

These figures are expressed in full-time equivalent, meaning they bring salaries back to a full year of work at full-time. Therefore, they do not necessarily correspond to the actual amount paid each month to a person working part-time or who has experienced an interruption of activity. The "net" used by Insee refers to the amount before income tax deductions.

Purchasing power varies by salary level

The increase in purchasing power reaches 1.0% at the threshold of the 10% lowest salaries, compared to 1.6% at the threshold of the 10% best-paid salaries. It rises to 2.2% at the threshold of the 1% highest salaries. The improvement is therefore general in the distribution, but its intensity varies.

Shift from previous inflationary period

This movement reverses the one observed during the inflationary surge of 2022 and 2023. Automatic increases in the minimum wage had then better protected low salaries, while higher salaries lost purchasing power. In 2025, the gap between the ninth and the first decile goes from 2.91 to 2.92: a limited increase, but which ends the previous narrowing of the salary scale. However, the gap remains lower than that of 2019.

Salary growth not uniform across all sectors

Construction shows a real increase in the average net salary of 2.3%, compared to 1.5% in industry and 1.5% in the service sector. For people present for two complete years in the same company with comparable working hours, the average salary increases by 2.8% after inflation. This population, however, only represents about half of the workforce considered in the study; its evolution cannot be extended to all employees.

Gender pay gap persists

In 2025, women earn on average 12.8% less than men in full-time equivalent, a reduction of 0.3 points over one year. Their average net salaries increase by 1.7% after inflation, compared to 1.4% for men. The gap has decreased by 5.2 points over ten years, but has not disappeared.

Limitations of the salary comparison

The comparison neutralizes differences in working time, but not those in professions, functions, sectors or companies. It therefore does not measure a gap for strictly identical positions. The under-representation of women among the highest salaries remains marked: they make up 24.7% of the 1% best-paid employees, while they represent 42% of the workforce measured in full-time equivalent.

Return to 2019 purchasing power levels

The return of the average salary's purchasing power above its 2019 level, noted by Insee, is a milestone. It does not mean that all employees have regained their previous situation or that the incomes of all households are evolving at the same pace. The data relate to the salaries of 2025, and not to the pay slips of October 2026.