Overview

• The federal statistics office reports average full-time pay at €50,625 in the East versus €63,999 in the West, a difference equal to about 21%.
• The divide increased from 2023, when the gap stood at €12,775 with averages of €48,023 in the East and €60,798 in the West.
• State extremes persist, with Sachsen-Anhalt (€46,708) and Thüringen (€46,720) at the bottom and Hessen (€62,915) and Hamburg (€62,517) at the top.
• Real wages rose 1.9% year over year in the second quarter as nominal pay grew roughly 4.1% and consumer prices climbed 2.1%.
• Economists from IfW and WSI warn that higher social charges, including increased health-insurance supplements, leave many employees with little growth in real disposable income, while BSW leader Sahra Wagenknecht decries the gap and urges higher wages, lower taxes and relief on contributions.