(Paris) Average wages have started to grow again faster than prices at the global level, according to a report from the International Labor Organization (ILO) published Thursday, which points to “strong” persistent wage inequalities.
Posted at 7:04 a.m.
According to this “Global Wage Report 2024-25”, after falling by 0.9% in 2022, global real wage growth recovered in 2023, amid a gradual decline in inflation. , “showing an increase of 1.8%” (1.3% without China, which is experiencing rapid wage growth).
Preliminary data available for the first two quarters of 2024 show an increase of 2.7% this year (2.3% if we exclude China), “the largest increase recorded over the last 15 years », continues the ILO.
Wage growth was nevertheless uneven across regions, with emerging economies experiencing stronger growth than advanced economies, the ILO says.
In the advanced economies of the G20 – in the red in 2022 as in 2023 – wage growth thus became positive again, standing at 0.9% in 2024, while an increase of 5.9% was recorded. in the G20 emerging economies (remaining in the green in 2022 and 2023).
“The good news is that wages are recovering,” welcomed ILO Director General Gilbert Houngbo at a press conference.
Asked if this rebound could help offset the losses linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, he replied that “we must keep in mind that cumulatively, we are not saying that we have fully recovered. . Workers are still suffering because of inflation.”
Furthermore, “wage disparities between and within countries remain unacceptable”.
The report finds that since 2000, pay inequality, which compares the wages of high and low earners, has fallen in “around two-thirds of countries.” Depending on the measurement used, the decline is 0.5 to 1.7% per year.
Despite this trend, “strong wage inequalities persist in countries around the world,” says the ILO.
The report shows that globally, “the lowest-paid 10% of workers earn just 0.5% of the global wage bill, while the highest-paid 10% earn nearly 38% of that wage bill.” .
The ILO Director General insisted on “three key messages”: improve wage policies with adequate minimum wage systems, do more to reduce gender inequalities and tackle the root causes of low wages.
