After two years marked by significant increases, the salary increases planned for 2025 will be more limited. If they remain higher than inflation, they reflect a change in corporate strategy, more focused on individual performance than on collective upgrades.
Shrinking budgets for salary increases
Average salary increases forecast for 2025 will reach 3%, a notable drop from the 4% seen in 2024 and the 4.95% in 2023. This is what reveals the “Total Remuneration Survey” from Mercer, which analyzes trends in remuneration in France each year.
However, these figures must be interpreted with nuance. “ Increase budgets vary depending on the economic health of companies and adjustments made in previous years in a context marked by inflation », specifies the report. This year, salary increases will be primarily aimed at retaining key talent and maintaining competitiveness in an increasingly competitive job market.
For 2025, 100% of the companies surveyed will allocate a budget for increases, but not all of them will concern all employees. Mercer indicates that 50% of companies will concentrate these revaluations on specific profiles, compared to 41% in 2024. In addition, almost 19% of companies have not yet made a decision, a sign of the uncertainties hanging over the economy.
« The more moderate level of inflation pushes employers to adopt increases based on criteria of individual performance, salary scale and competitiveness “, explains Mercer. This approach marks a decline in collective increases in favor of more targeted strategies.
Attractiveness to be preserved
At the same time, recruitment prospects show a clear decline for 2025. Only 20% of companies plan to increase their workforce, compared to 34% in 2023. At the same time, 10% of employers plan to reduce their teams, an increase compared to last year.
According to Cyrille Bellanger, director of compensation consulting at Mercer France, “ the obligatory annual negotiations promise to be complex. Companies will have to reconcile restricted budgets with increased demands in terms of flexibility, well-being at work and attractiveness. The war for talent remains a priority, particularly for executives in engineering and sales, but also for non-managerial production professions. ».
In this context, companies must review their compensation strategies while anticipating the growing expectations of their employees. The battle to attract and retain talent remains at the heart of concerns, while the balance between budgetary constraints and employee aspirations becomes a major strategic issue.
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