The 2012 social balance sheet

A new form introduced in 2012 for firms and associations filing full-format accounts paved the way for a new kind of analysis, such that a distinction could be made between the situations of women and men employed by these firms. A population of 8 862 firms formed the basis for assessing the gender pay gap in the light of a) the staff costs per employee and b) the costs per hour of work, in order to factor in the differences in working hours. Undertaken separately for employees working full-time or those working reduced hours, the second indicator pointed to a sizeable pay gap within this population (9% and 14% for full-time and part-time employees respectively). There are also proportionally more women in the lowest pay grades and in companies where male staff costs are higher on average than women’s wages, notwithstanding a higher average qualification level for women. Employment trends between 2011 and 2012 were analysed on the basis of a constant population of 48 385 firms. Against the background of output contraction, the slower employment growth rate during the year resulted in a stabilisation of staff levels between late 2011 and late 2012, affecting the whole population of firms and each of the country’s three Regions. However, contrasting patterns were reported depending on size and the fields of activity of enterprises and depending on the staff profile. Within this same constant population, there was an upturn in the number of companies providing training, while the percentage of employees receiving formal or informal training rose to 43.5% and 26.3% respectively. Conversely, the rate of participation in initial training, which is only marginal, showed little change. On an upward path owing to a sharp increase in the informal training budget, training-related expenditure accounted for 1.84 % of overall staff costs.