Overview

• In 2024, 26,200 employed people in Hamburg relied on Bürgergeld supplements, marking a rise of over four percent and the highest level since 2016.
• Hamburg’s government spent more than €237 million on supplemental Bürgergeld last year, with total payments to households including at least one working recipient exceeding €411 million.
• The Minimum Wage Commission has unanimously recommended lifting the federal minimum to €13.90 per hour on January 1, 2026, and to €14.60 on January 1, 2027, and Federal Labour Minister Bärbel Bas intends to implement the plan.
• Berlin’s Senate coalition has drafted legislation to introduce a local minimum wage above the forthcoming federal rate starting in 2026.
• Labour unions and opposition lawmakers are demanding a €15 statutory minimum wage to reduce in-work poverty and meet the EU’s requirement for national minima to equal at least 60% of median earnings.