Inflation wipes out high wage increases in Germany last year

The median salary of all full-time employees subject to social security contributions in Germany was €3,796 per month in 2023.

Compared to 2022, wages and salaries have therefore risen by an average of €150 euros - or 4.1 percent.

According to BA, this rise can partly be explained by a spate of strike actions and collective bargaining last year. With the cost of living rising significantly, workers across several industries fought for high pay increases to compensate for inflation. 

However, despite some wins for Germany's major unions, significant inequalities in earnings still remain, particularly when it comes to gender and location. 

While the median salary for men was just over €3,930 in 2023, women earned around €3,563 - a difference of €367. This was a slight increase compared to 2022, but shows an improvement compared to 2019, when the difference was €443.

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In terms of regional differences, the northern port city of Hamburg had the highest-earning residents while just down the coast in Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania, people earned the lowest. 

The highest median salaries were achieved by full-time employees in Hamburg at €4,304, followed by well-heeled Baden-Württemberg at €4,134 and Hesse at €4,087.

On the other end of the spectrum, three former East German states had the lowest-paid employees. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the median salary was €3,098, in Thuringia it was €3,109 and Saxony-Anhalt it was €3,152.

How much employees earned also depended heavily on their qualifications.

While people without a vocational qualification earned €2,831 on average, employees with a recognised vocational qualifications earned €3,658. Graduates were among the highest earners, taking home a median salary of €5,688 per month.

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Pay also tends to increase as employees get older, BA reported.

Employees under 25 earned €2,897 on average, while 25 to 54-year-olds earned €3,860. Median salaries for employees over the age of 55, meanwhile, stood at €3,954 per month.