Ten-year comparison
Less low -wage jobs in Germany
The low -wage sector in Germany shrinks. In some federal states, the numbers of the poorer paid jobs went down particularly clearly.
There are fewer low -wage jobs in Germany: the number fell by 1.3 million within ten years. In April 2024, the earnings of around 6.3 million employees were gross per hour below the low -wage threshold of EUR 13.79. According to the Federal Statistical Office, this was almost every sixth job (16 percent) in Germany.
In April 2014, i.e. before the introduction of the statutory minimum wage on January 1, 2015, the Wiesbaden statisticians still had around 7.6 million jobs in the low -wage sector and thus more than every fifth job (21 percent). At that time, the low -wage threshold was 10.00 euros gross per hour.
Low -wage sector has become smaller in the east
According to the information, the low-wage sector shrank particularly clearly in the ten-year comparison in the eastern federal states: there, the proportion of low-wage jobs in all employment relationships halved almost 35 percent to 18 percent. In West Germany, the proportion decreased from 19 percent to 16 percent.
The low -wage sector includes all employment relationships (without trainees), which are paid with less than two thirds of the middle gross hour of earnings.
Gate between better and low earners is a bit
Overall, according to calculations by the Federal Office, the earnings of earnings between low-wage earners and better earners have become smaller in the ten-year period: the upper ten percent of the wage scale received 3.00 times the gross hour of low earners in April last year. In April 2014 it was 3.48 times.
Federal Statistical Office for Jobs in the low -wage sector Statistical Federal Office for the statutory minimum wage
dpa
Source: Stern
