Year
Strongest increase for real wages since 2008
The economic mood is bad, but the employees have significantly more money in their pockets. Since consumer prices no longer climb so quickly, there is more to consumption.
The workers in Germany received historically high growth in their real wages last year. The increase of 3.1 percent has been the highest since the introduction of statistics in 2008, reports the Federal Statistical Office. The value is calculated from the average gross wage increases of 5.4 percent, of which the now weakened inflation of 2.2 percent is deducted.
The increases in wages are due, among other things, to tariff degrees and high inflation equalization spaces, with which the burdens of the employees from the years of high inflation should be compensated for. According to calculations by the Union Hans Böckler Foundation, the real wage losses from the years 2020 to 2023 characterized by Corona and Ukraine War are not fully compensated for. The real wages were also under the level from 2019 last year, says Böckler expert Malte Lübker.
The final quarter 2024 was the seventh quarter in a row with an increase of 2.5 percent with rising real wages. For the current year, lower increases in gross wages are expected because many salary components in the previous year have only been made as a one -off payment and therefore do not occur again.
According to the surveys, women with an increase of 5.8 percent benefited a little more from gross wage increases than men who came to 5.3 percent more. Especially in the areas of information and communication, health and social affairs as well as banks and insurance companies were paid significantly more than in the previous year. The high one -off payments made the income of the lower groups increase above average with 7.8 percent.
dpa
Source: Stern
