- CALCULATE: How much will your salary be indexed?
The increase in gross monthly salary is noticeable across all population groups and, over the past five years, has been greatest for workers with between 4 and 5 years of work experience. However, it was lowest among people with between 21 and 25 years of work under their belt.
Women’s wages have also increased faster (+16.9%) than men’s (+12.9%) since 2020, although a significant pay gap remains, according to the Jobat Wage Barometer. Workers without a higher education diploma have seen their gross monthly salary increase the most (+19%) since 2020.
- Discover: What solutions to close the wage gap?
Less for executives, more for Horeca
Wage increases are noticeable in almost all sectors and job categories. It is in the Horeca sector, as well as in the textile and fashion industry, that monthly salaries have increased the most, namely by just over 19% in both cases. Despite this, we still earn the least well in the Horeca sector with an average gross salary of 3.421 eurosaccording to the Jobat Salary Barometer. Finally, it is in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry that salaries are the highest with an average of 5.247 euros.
The gross monthly salary increased the least (10.1%) in the energy and environment sector, although it remains the second most remunerative sector with an average of 4.820 euros per month.
The monthly salary also increases within the different professional categories, with the exception of general management which suffers a slight loss (-3.24% compared to last year). Despite this, these people continue to earn the best living with an average of 5.941 euros gross per month. At the very bottom of the scale are the cleaning agents, who have to make do with an average of 2.765 euros gross per month.
- Also read: What does a domestic worker do and earn?
Median vs mean
The average gross monthly salary of Belgians currently amounts to 4 318 euros. However, the average Belgian worker “only” earns 3.850 euros per month. This is in fact the average or median salary, according to the Jobat Salary Barometer. The median is the average salary of a range ranked in order of magnitude. Concretely, half of the people questioned earn less, while the other half earn more. Thus, a median salary is more resistant to outliers than an average salary.
Since last year, the average gross monthly salary in Belgium has increased by exactly 75 euros. The median salary has increased by 50 euros. And yes, this salary increase continues regardless of the size of the organization, even if it is SME employees who have experienced the highest salary increase over the last five years. Employees of large companies, on the other hand, always earn more in comparison.
- EXTRA : Here are the 10 highest paid jobs in Belgium
Public sector staff also saw the largest pay increase since 2020, while employee salaries increased the least in percentage terms. Finally, workers remain at the bottom of the wage scale and this wage gap seems to be widening more and more over time.
Brussels pays the best
If we examine work experience using the Jobat Salary Barometer, we see that workers with 4 to 5 years of experience have seen their salaries increase the most (+25.6% since 2020). Brucelles having experienced the highest salary increase.
Indeed, it is in Brussels that salaries are the highest: the average gross salary is 5,253 euros and the median salary is 4.750 euros.
Status quo regarding extra-legal benefits and leave
For several years, the average number of days off for Belgians has remained stable, namely 28 days. The number of extra-legal benefits per employee also remains approximately the same, with an average of 6.5 different benefits per employee. Meal vouchers are the most popular: 77% of Belgian workers benefit from them. For employees, this percentage even reaches 80%.
Employees benefit from the greatest number of fringe benefits anyway, with an average of 10.1 benefits per employee. Civil servants and workers must make do with an average of between 6.4 and 5.7 different benefits in their overall salary package.
According to the Jobat Salary Barometer, travel allowance is granted less and less, in favor of the possibility of working from home (+17.8% since 2020) and a laptop (+9.8%) . The “new” extralegal benefits – such as the cafetaria plan and bike leasing – still seem to be little used, with only 15% of employees benefiting from them.
- Check-list : overview of the most common extralegal benefits
Working from home remains in vogue
Employees of small companies still benefit from far fewer fringe benefits than those of organizations with more than 200 employees, although this gap appears to be narrowing and employees of small companies receive more and more benefits in the framework of their overall remuneration.
The same goes for employees without a (higher) diploma: they benefit on average from fewer extralegal benefits but, over the years, they receive more than before. The possibility of working from home has particularly increased, a trend that can also be observed among civil servants, for example. Unfortunately, given the content of their work, workers benefit much less (if at all).
- Investigation : Do you also have flexible working hours?
The professional categories with the greatest number of extra-legal benefits and those with the fewest remain the same: computer scientists, managers and engineers are still the best off, teachers and cleaners the worst off. However, it seems that managers and directors are also slightly losing out in terms of extra-legal benefits this year. Regardless, workers in the energy and telecommunications sectors benefit from the greatest number of extra-legal benefits with an average of 12.3 benefits per employee.
Persistent dissatisfaction
Although most employees have seen their salaries increase, we see that satisfaction with the salary package has decreased. While 61% of employees said they were satisfied with their salary last year (score between 7 and 10 in the Jobat Salary Barometer), there are only 55% today. This decline in satisfaction is observed in all sectors, all job categories, all ages, all types of employees and all regions. The largest drop in salary satisfaction is observed among employees with 4 to 5 years of experience, while this group is the one whose salary has increased the most on average over the past year.
According to the Jobat Salary Barometer, the perception of professional happiness also continues to decline, and has been since 2020. The average happiness score is currently 6.8 out of 10. Only civil servants seem slightly happier since this year than the last year. Finally, workers active in the chemical and pharmaceutical, energy and environmental sectors remain the happiest of all. Would higher pay make you happier?
- Take the test: Are you still satisfied with your current job?
Source : Jobat.be
Related News :