France hourly labour cost index: manufacturing industry
France hourly labour cost index: manufacturing industry stood at 116.6 in Q2 2026, according to INSEE – Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (BDM). It is one of the indicators in the Wages and labour cost table (Value · Quarterly), with a complete series running from Q1 1998 to Q2 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Wages and labour cost table
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour cost index | |||||||||||
| hourly costs - Manufacturing industry (NAF rev. 2 item C) | 116.6 | 116.4 | 115.7 | 114.5 | 113.9 | 113.7 | 112.4 | 111 | 111 | 110 | |
| hourly costs - Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (NAF rev. 2 item D) | 113.1 | 114.6 | 112.2 | 112 | 111 | 112.2 | 111.8 | 108.7 | 109.1 | 110 |
Understanding france hourly labour cost index: manufacturing industry
This metric measures total hourly employer expenditures for personnel engaged in industrial production, factory fabrication, and goods transformation activities. It accounts for base wages, shift differentials, performance bonuses, and mandatory employer social contributions divided by the total hours worked by production-line staff, technicians, and factory management. Unlike construction or tertiary series, this indicator reflects factory-floor operating environments bound by continuous production schedules and machinery utilization.
Analysts must account for plant-wide annual holiday closures, which temporarily depress working hours and can create statistical artifacts in unadjusted quarterly readings. Preliminary data points undergo revision as corporate fiscal submissions are fully reconciled. When benchmarking against other sectors, it is important to recognize that manufacturing remuneration is often heavily tied to export market pressures and collective bargaining agreements negotiated at the branch level.
Frequently asked questions
- What operations are included in the manufacturing labour cost measure?
- It covers all industrial transformation plants, assembly lines, and goods fabrication facilities classified under manufacturing.
- How do factory shutdowns impact the index?
- Mandatory annual holiday closures reduce total hours worked, which can distort short-term quarterly comparisons if not interpreted carefully.
- Why are branch-level agreements important for this series?
- Manufacturing pay scales are frequently governed by sector-specific collective bargaining agreements that dictate wage floors and benefit structures.