Has the minimum wage increased more than inflation as Emmanuel Macron claims?

Work must pay. This Wednesday, during his interview, Emmanuel Macron declared that “he [fallait] listen to what our compatriots who speak out on this issue, which is not pensions, but work that must be paid, tell us.

Although purchasing power continues to be the main concern of the French with the return of high inflation, the Head of State believes that the government has not stood idly by.

Since the end of 2021, the minimum wage has been increased periodically. A mechanical revaluation that takes place every January 1 according to a complex calculation linked to inflation but also during the year if the consumer price index increases by at least 2% with respect to the index observed during the last change in the amount of the minimum wage .

What about the last 18 months? A year and a half ago, the gross minimum wage per hour was 10.25 euros. It rose to 10.48 euros in October 2021, 10.57 euros on January 1, 2022, 10.85 euros in May 2022, 11.07 euros in August and 11.27 euros on January 1 of this year. An increase linked to the calculation method of the Smic, without additional help from the government.

Almost 10% increase for the Smic

In the last 18 months, the hourly minimum wage has therefore increased by 1.02 euros, or very precisely 9.95%, therefore more than the 9.5% advanced by the Head of State.

What about inflation? In 2022 as a whole, the price increase calculated by INSEE was 5.2%. In the period, the Smic went from 10.48 euros gross per hour (its amount as of December 31, 2021) to 11.07 euros (as of December 31, 2022). The increase was, therefore, of the order of 5.6%, or 0.4 points higher than the price index. Therefore, the Smic has increased more strongly than inflation in 2022.

But what about the “last 18 months” as Emmanuel Macron refers to them? As a reminder, the Smic increased by 9.95% between September 2021 and this year 2023. How to measure the price rise in this 18-month period?

Every 15th of each month, INSEE publishes a price index (base 100 in 2015) that evolves with monthly price increases. This index thus fell from 105.97 in September 2021 to 115.06 at the end of February 2023. Inflation in the period of the last 18 months is therefore 8.6%, that is, effectively a increase less than the increase in gross hourly minimum wage.