All this is evident from Jobat’s Salary Compass. As is the annual tradition, this offers an insight into the wages of working Belgians, including blue-collar workers, employees and civil servants. About 92,000 respondents took part in Jobat’s wage survey over the course of 2023.
Wages on the rise
Compared to last year, the average gross salary has increased by 362 euros or 9.32%, partly due to the inflation adjustment(s). Wages increased in all sectors and at all ages, both among starters and more experienced employees. “A year ago, starting employees were the only category who could not benefit from a wage increase. Now so do they. They have improved by about 8% in one year,” says William Visterin, editor-in-chief of Jobat.
A notable exception: management and directors. This group sees a slight decrease in their gross monthly wages. Management and directors are not always covered by the classic index adjustment, their wages are often subject to negotiation. Functions in social services also did not improve.
Not everyone rises at the same rate. Pay rises the most, especially among workers with 4 to 5 years of experience (+ 14% in one year). “In terms of age and experience, those with 4 to 5 years of experience are the winners in the labor market in terms of wage growth,” says William Visterin.
We are more satisfied again
Not only do we see our wages rising, but we are also more satisfied with our wages. The downward trend in satisfaction with the pay package has not continued. 34% give a score of 8, 9 or 10 with regard to satisfaction with their pay package.
Almost all profiles are more satisfied. Satisfaction with the pay package does decrease for positions in management and directors and social service providers. They did not see their wages increase in a year.
What is the median and average salary?
An average working Belgian earns 3,800 euros per month. This average or median wage has increased by more than 26.6% in five years. The median is the middle wage in a series arranged by size. So in concrete terms this means that half of the respondents earn less and half more. A median wage is more resistant to outliers than an average wage.
The average monthly wage of working Belgians is: 4,243 euros gross, an increase of 24.4% in five years. Traditional wage differences between regions are decreasing somewhat. Regions such as West Flanders and Flemish Brabant are increasing in terms of average wages in five years (plus 26%) faster than Brussels (plus 22.8%).
The average gender pay gap is decreasing (very) slightly: women’s wages have risen more sharply in five years than those of men. A woman earns on average 3,822 euros (plus 24.9% over five years), then that is for a man 4,446 euros (plus 24.2%).
Sectors and functions
The sectors that pay the best this year are again chemicals & pharmaceuticals, energy & environment, banking & insurance and government in fourth place. On average, you earn the least in catering, tourism, sports & recreation and in media, marketing & communication.
The positions that have increased the most in terms of average wages are positions in education, education and training (plus 34.1% in five years) and medical & paramedical positions, which have increased by 31.8% in five years. The (on average) highest-paying position is management and direction 6,140 euros gross average per month.
Fringe benefits continue to increase
The number of fringe benefits continues to rise. The average working Belgian can count on 6.63 fringe benefitswith meal vouchers and end-of-year bonus being the most common.
Since 2019, the average number of fringe benefits has increased by 10.5%. In particular, the benefits of working from home, such as the laptop and the internet subscription, have increased considerably in three years. The option to work from home is well established among both white-collar and government employees.
In terms of job categories, the number of benefits for management & directors has decreased slightly. Nevertheless, this group, together with profiles in ICT and consultancy, still forms the top 3 with the highest (average) number of fringe benefits.
And vacation?
The average number of vacation days has remained the same over the last three years 28 days. The differences within gender, education and seniority level are rather limited, although there are large differences between professional groups. For example, workers only have 24 days of vacation on average, which is 13 days less than government employees. The number of vacation days also increases with the size of the company.
In both education (45 days) and government (33 days), people remain well above the average of 28 days of vacation. Although, proportionally and on average, these sectors have fewer fringe benefits.
Source: Jobat.be
