Salaries for executives in France rose by 2.7% in the first half of 2018, when compared to the same period last year, according to data from Expectra, a subsidiary of Randstad. This increase is the biggest in six years.

According to Expectra, the 2.7% increase in H1 2018 marks the eighth consecutive year in which executive compensation has risen.

Expectra CEO Christophe Bougeard said the marked increase this year can explained by the "sustained dynamism of the French economy" in the previous year.

Bougeard also noted a "marked tendency of companies to favour individual wage increases" and also noted a "war of talents", especially around the digital "profiles".

Expectra’s data also found that four occupations showed salary increases of more than 8% including: "web marketing project manager" (9.5%), "studies manager" (8.6%), "construction engineer" (8.5%) and "maintenance engineer" (8.1%).

Among sectors, the construction sector saw an increase 4.2% in 2018 (compared to 1.3% in 2017) and the strongest growth in the last five years. This was followed by the IT and telecom sector (2.7%) as well as the commercial and marketing sector (2.7%).

In all sectors, the gross annual median salary of executives was €44,720 in 2018, according to Expectra’s data.