Trésor-Eco
Wage Trajectories of French Minimum Wage Earners
In France, wage trajectories of minimum wage earners, i.e. employees earning less than 1.1 times the statutory minimum wage, are very diverse. Half of them experienced upward wage mobility between 2013 and 2019. However, a minority remained durably close to the statutory minimum wage , and some categories of individuals were more likely than others to remain at this wage level: women, clerical staff and service sector employees.
Study of individual wage trajectories provides a more detailed picture of wage mobility and stagnation over a long period than aggregate wage indicators.
Analysis of wage trajectories in France between 2013 and 2019 shows that minimum wage earners, hereby defined as employees earning less than 1.1 times the French statutory minimum wage (Smic), were more likely to see their salary increase than other employees. These employees also received higher average pay rises. In particular, this is due to the fact that more young people, at the start of their careers, are minimum wage earners and then experience a rapid pay rise.
However, wage trajectories of minimum wage earners are very diverse. Only a minority of them remain permanently close to the minimum wage. Certain categories of individuals are however more likely to remain minimum wage earners over time: women, clerical workers and service sector employees.
Lastly, an analysis of wage trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic between 2019 and 2021 suggests that experiencing a period of short-time work did not significantly affect the likelihood of wage progression during this period.
