In Germany. How many euros per hour do even the poorest earn

This is shown by the latest data from the Federal Statistical Office for April 2022. They were published at the request of the Left in the Bundestag.

23.35% of employees – about 9.3 million out of a total of 39.8 million employed – receive less than 14 euros gross per hour, which is only slightly more than the minimum wage. 14.8% of the employed receive the minimum wage of 12 euros per hour.

“If every fourth person in Germany receives less than 14 euros gross per hour, the wage level in Germany is clearly too low,” criticized Dietmar Barch, co-chairman of the Left parliamentary group.

“The introduction of a 14 euro minimum wage is necessary – also to compensate for inflation.”

The Minimum Wage Commission recently decided to increase the minimum rate by 41 cents to €12.41 from January 2024. In January 2025, it should rise to 12.82 euros.

“The planned increase of only 41 cents is a dramatic loss of real wages,” Barch is convinced. “The low level of pay will also cause us problems when it comes to pensions. Millions of people are at risk of poverty in old age.”

The pension fund is already losing many billions due to low wages.