French wages are expected to rise by about 5% this year, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Sunday, adding that an incoming social convention would look for ways to boost pay for low-wage workers, notably through collective bargaining.
“We should see on average a rise of 5% for wages in 2023; we are not there yet but we can be,” Le Maire said in an interview with BFM TV.
The rise could be above France’s inflation which was running at an annual rate of 4.8% in August. Consumer price increases in France have been trending lower this year although they accelerated unexpectedly in August.
Among other possibilities to increase low pay, Le Maire said that cutting social taxes on jobs paid just above the minimum wage was also being considered.
Le Maire on Aug. 29 stuck by the governent’s growth forecast of 1% for 2023 despite worries about a downdraft from China’s weak economy.
