Press release No. 070 of 17 February 2021
Nominal earnings declined for the first time since the survey began in 2007
-0.6% compared with the previous year
WIESBADEN – According to provisional results of the quarterly survey of earnings, the index of nominal earnings in Germany decreased by an annual average of just over 0.6% in 2020 compared with a year earlier. The index reflects the development of gross monthly earnings including extra payments. Consumer prices rose by just under 0.5% in the same period. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that real earnings declined by an average of 1.0% compared with 2019. This means that, contrary to the financial and economic crisis of 2008/2009, employees in Germany suffered income losses in 2020.
