Average incomes in Germany have recently risen significantly. However, prices have risen even faster, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office.
Inflation has eaten up the recent increase in income in Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the average income grew by 5.1 percent from 2022 to 2023 – but the inflation rate was 5.9 percent. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance requested the data from the authority. If you compare the years 2021 and 2023, the gap is even larger. “The Germans have become significantly poorer,” concludes BSW Chairwoman Sahra Wagenknecht from the figures.
Inflation had accelerated after the Russian attack on Ukraine in early 2022 because energy and, as a result, production and imported goods became much more expensive. The European Union had restricted oil imports from Russia and imposed further sanctions. Moscow stopped gas exports to Germany via the Nord Stream pipelines before the pipelines were blown up in an attack.
The bottom line is a minus
Trade unions tried to offset the price jumps with high wage agreements, and pensions were also increased significantly. The bottom line, however, is that households’ coffers remain in the red on average. This is particularly clear when looking at figures before the Ukraine crisis: inflation from 2021 to 2023 was a total of 13.2 percent. In the same period, disposable median incomes only grew by a good 5.8 percent, from 33,558 to 35,510 euros.
The “average income” – usually called median income – is a statistical value that gives less weight to very high and very low incomes than the “average income”. However, the trend is similar for both calculation values: the average net income per household increased from 41,887 euros nationwide to 43,795 euros between 2021 and 2023. This does not just mean wages, but also other types of income such as rental income or transfer payments.
Wagenknecht blames the government for the development. “Seven percent less purchasing power for the middle class since 2021 is a historic loss of prosperity for which the traffic light coalition is primarily responsible,” commented the party founder. “The traffic light coalition was and is both an inflation driver and an income brake.” She again criticized the economic sanctions against Russia and what she sees as an “ideology-driven energy policy with special levies.” The government has not come close to compensating for inflation in pensions and the minimum wage.
The minimum wage rose by 41 cents to 12.41 euros at the beginning of the year, and another 41 cents will be added at the turn of the year. Pensions rose by 4.57 percent in July. A year ago, they rose by 4.39 percent in the west and 5.86 percent in the east.
Source: Stern
