Data from the Federal Statistical Office indicates a clear strengthening of the purchasing power of German workers in 2025. Real wages rose as the growth rate of nominal wages outpaced the rate of price increases for goods and services. Despite the positive trend, the employment sector faces challenges related to the gender pay gap and issues with school truancy in Bavaria.
Real wage growth
German workers gained in purchasing power, as the growth of nominal wages outpaced the inflation rate.
Poland among EU leaders
According to Eurostat data, Poland has one of the smallest gender pay gaps in Europe, ranking third on the list.
Gender pay gap problem
Equal Pay Day observances in Germany have become an occasion to criticize earnings inequality between women and men.
Undeclared work inspections
The number of inspections in Schleswig-Holstein targeting illegal employment increased in 2025.
The German economy recorded a significant breakthrough in household incomes in 2025. According to the latest reports from the Federal Statistical Office, the real wages of German residents have increased for another consecutive year. This phenomenon results directly from a significant slowdown in inflation while maintaining the dynamic growth of nominal wages negotiated in collective agreements. This has translated into a real increase in the purchasing power of money in citizens' pockets, which is a key indicator of the health of private consumption. This trend was particularly visible in federal states such as Bavaria, Lower Saxony, and Thuringia, where wage increases clearly outpaced rising living costs. In the years 2021–2023, German workers faced a historic decline in real wages caused by a sharp increase in energy and food prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Nevertheless, economists point out that despite last year's increases, real wage levels have still not fully returned to the record highs recorded in 2019, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parallel to the optimistic macroeconomic data, the public debate focuses on Equal Pay Day. The latest Eurostat data shows that Poland holds a favorable third place in the European Union in terms of the smallest earnings gap between women and men. In Germany, this situation is assessed more harshly by social organizations, which warn that society still exploits women as cheaper labor, especially in the care sectors. In the shadow of wage statistics, reports of social problems in the southern regions of the country are emerging. Bavaria has recorded an increase in the number of students avoiding compulsory schooling. Local authorities are struggling with a lack of centralized statistics that would allow for precise monitoring of the scale of truancy. Meanwhile, in Schleswig-Holstein, customs control services intensified their fight against undeclared work in 2025, aiming to tighten the tax system and protect the legal labor market in the face of improving wage conditions. „Die Reallöhne in Deutschland sind im Jahr 2025 gestiegen, da die Nominallöhne deutlich stärker wuchsen als die Verbraucherpreise.” (Real wages in Germany rose in 2025, as nominal wages grew significantly more strongly than consumer prices.) — Federal Statistical Office (Destatis)
Perspektywy mediów: Liberal media emphasize the need to continue the fight for equal pay for women and men, pointing to structural exploitation. Conservative press highlights the improvement in purchasing power due to budgetary discipline and effective inflation control.