Press release No. 065 of 16 February 2022
WIESBADEN – According to provisional results of the quarterly survey of earnings, the index of nominal earnings in Germany increased by an annual average of just under 3.1% in 2021 compared with a year earlier. The index reflects the development of gross monthly earnings including extra payments. Consumer prices rose by just over 3.1% in the same period. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that real earnings are expected to have decreased by an average of 0.1% compared with 2020, following their previous downward trend in the first year of the Covid-19 crisis. In 2021, high inflation offset the rise in nominal earnings, while the negative development of nominal and real earnings in 2020 was due in particular to the increase in short-time working. In 2020, the index of nominal earnings declined by just over 0.7% year on year, whereas consumer prices increased by 0.5%. This resulted in a decrease of real earnings of 1.1%.
