Lower salary increases in 2025, but you won’t lose out

In 2025, salaries will see a median increase of 3.5%. A slight decline in development compared to 2023 and 2024, but will benefit all types of employees, unlike previous years.

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Wage increases slow again in 2025. According to the study carried out by the WTW firm among 1,000 French companies spread over six key sectors – sales, energy, finance, industry, tech and media, and pharmacy – the budget devoted to increases will reach 3.5% in median this year. Concretely, half of the employees will receive an increase of less than 3.5%, and the other half a higher increase. Note that this figure is in slight decline compared to 2023 (3.8%) and 2024 (4%).

But should you be worried about your wallet? Not necessarily. “If we compare with 2023 and 2024, we observe a drop in salary increases of 0.2 to 0.5 points. But we must remember that inflation fell by 3 to 4 points over the same period.specifies Khalil Ait-Mouloud, director of the remuneration survey activity at WTW. Unlike previous years when high inflation ate away a good part of your increase, this year, with a price increase limited to 1.6% according to the Banque de France, you will be able to take full advantage of your revaluation.

“After two years of record increases linked to inflation, companies are resuming more traditional remuneration practices, that is to say more homogeneous between employees”, summarizes Khalil Ait-Mouloud. High inflation forces in 2023 and 2024, companies have tended to primarily target low wagesthe most impacted by the loss of purchasing power. In 2025, thanks to inflation returning to more normal levels, companies are distributing their salary increase envelopes more equitably.

Some better off profiles

If the trend is therefore towards generalization (unlike last year, where they were very targeted), this does not necessarily mean that all employees will be in the same boat. The luckiest will be able to hope for an increase in 3.9% in median. But be careful, this will only concern a minority of workers: only one in four companies will apply these significant increases, according to WTW. Two types of profiles will stand out. First, those who occupy positions professions in tensionthese jobs for which recruiters struggle to find enough candidates in the face of growing demand. This is the case, for example, for profiles specialized inartificial intelligenceTHE cloud or even the cybersecurity. “These professions require very specific skills, which are still rare on the market, which pushes companies to offer larger increases to prevent them from leaving for the competition”underlines Khalil Ait-Mouloud.

But these generous increases will not be reserved for tech fans. THE “top performers»as Khalil Ait-Mouloud calls them, will also have a special place in the race for increases. For a simple reason: “They are those who bring the most value to the company, support its growth or achieve key objectives”explains the director of the investigation. Profiles that employers will therefore have every interest in pampering, and who will benefit “increases ranging up to 50% above the median». Thus, these super performers will be able to hope for salary increases of more than 5% in 2025.

Performance and sector, two elements that weigh on the increase levels

On the other side of the looking glass, employees displaying mixed results should not count on particularly generous increases. “If tomorrow I leave my job but my employer can easily replace me, I will logically have less chance of obtaining better remuneration”illustrates Khalil Ait-Mouloud. So, if your position does not present no specificity or added value difficult to replaceopportunities for revaluation may be limited. In this context, do not hesitate to highlight your skills or your responsibilities to justify a raise to your boss: “The salary above all pays for holding a position. If you have acquired new skills or taken on important projects, this is an excellent argument for requesting an upgrade.advises the expert.

Beyond performance, the most modest increases will also be a question of sector. Like areas of activity in difficulty, such as construction or the retail bankingwhere the median of revaluations will cap at 3%compared to 3.5% for the rest of the employees. A “direct consequence of tighter margins and ongoing restructuring in these two major sectors”according to Khalil Ait-Mouloud. A small consolation prize for these slightly less well-off workers: these increases, although more timid, will still have the advantage of exceeding the inflation forecast for 2025, estimated at 1.6%.