Salaries in 1981 -The characteristic event of the year was the large increase in the SMIC (the guaranteed monthly minimum wage), while other salaries on the whole increased only moderately. The most recent indicator (October) showed that the buying power of the hourly salary rate of blue-collar workers grew by 1% over twelve months. The trends of the monthly increase of all categories of wage earners in the private sector from April, 1980, to April, 1981, are comparable. The purchasing power of salaries in the civil service sector was simply maintained, except for the lowest levels, where it rose slightly. Finally, the up-dating of the annual declarations of salaries in 1981 makes it possible to evaluate the level and distribution of salari...