Income: How much more earn employees in West Germany?

According to an analysis, people in West Germany still earn significantly more money than in the east, but the wage gap has become smaller. Full -time employees in the west received an average of 4,810 euros gross per month last year. In the new federal states, it was only 3,973 euros and thus a good 17 percent less, as an evaluation of the Economic and Social Science Institute (WSI) of the Hans-Böckler Foundation close to the union.

The distance between East and West has shrunk by 7 percentage points since 2014. According to the researchers, the main reason for this is the minimum wage nationwide in 2015. “Employees in the East German federal states have benefited from the minimum wage above average,” said salary expert Malte Lübker. A particularly large low -wage sector was formed there after the turn.

Differences also in West German federal states

According to Lübker, the increase in the minimum wage that has already been decided to 14.60 euros by January 2027 should ensure further adjustment. There are hardly any differences in employees at the lower end of the wage distribution. In this area, the hourly wages in East Germany were just one percent below the western level in April 2024.

Before the minimum wage was introduced, the progress in adapting wages was smaller. From 1999 to 2014, the wage gap had only declined by 1.6 percentage points, as the institute reports. According to the researchers, collective agreements are crucial for the adjustment. In the east, the tariff bond is still lower.

According to WSI, there are sometimes significant differences between the federal states. The leader was most recently Hamburg with an hourly wage of 26.88 euros. Schleswig-Holstein was clearly behind 22.15 euros. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania only came to 20.33 euros.