Earnings & labour costs

Official statistics on earnings and labour costs comprise absolute figures on labour costs, earnings by occupation and by branch of economic activity, agreed earnings and minimum wages.

Also, the average development of those data can be monitored through the following earnings indices: indices of agreed earnings and working hours, index of gross earnings, and labour cost index. In addition, they are often used as earnings indices in contracts.

Information on the development of real earnings and on the gender pay gap is also available.

Labour costs & non-wage costs

For employees, gross earnings are the largest source of income, whereas for employers they are costs. Together with non-wage costs, gross earnings are shown as labour costs. The level of labour costs is an important factor for employers when taking decisions on investments. This is why the labour cost levels of different countries are often compared with each other through rankings.

Minimum wages

A statutory minimum wage has been applicable across economic branches in Germany since 1 January 2015. In addition, there are minimum wages for individual branches and occupations. A majority of the European Union countries currently have a statutory minimum wage across branches.

Real earnings, net earnings

Gross earnings of employees rise due to collective agreements and after successful pay negotiations. But are increases in earnings sufficient to compensate for the price development? Inform yourself about how average gross earnings changed in nominal and in real terms.

The level of net earnings varies considerably, depending on tax class and earnings level. A model calculation of net earnings is done every year and shows the different effects of wage tax, solidarity surcharge and employees’ social contributions on the net earnings of different types of households.

Agreed earnings

The statistics of collective agreements provides information on individual collective agreements, for example, on the level of agreed earnings in the various pay groups, on extra payments and one-off payments, and on terms and major provisions of the agreements.

In the agreed earnings database, the data can be retrieved by individual criteria. Also, well-structured information on collective agreements is available for selected economic branches. Indices of agreed earnings and working hours are calculated to show the average development of agreed earnings in the individual branches.

Earnings and earnings differences

Men and women shall have equal rights. The Basic Law prohibits discrimination based on gender and demands equal opportunities. This also applies to earnings from employment. The gender pay gap is measured and analysed every year