Hamburg's labour costs top Germany at 49.41 euros an hour, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern lowest at 36.40

Regional gap

The Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden published its 2024 labour cost figures on Thursday, 5 November 2026. The data cover everything an employer pays for an hour of work, including gross wages, social security contributions and spending on training. The national average stood at 44.32 euros per hour. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern recorded the lowest figure at 36.40 euros, and Hamburg the highest at 49.41 euros. Hesse came second with 47.83 euros, a position the agency tied to pilot salaries at Frankfurt Airport. Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and the three city states of Hamburg, Berlin and Bremen all exceeded 45 euros, while Saarland, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate formed a middle group.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern36.4

Saxony-Anhalt36.53

Thuringia37.46

Saxony38.24

Germany average44.32

Hesse47.83

Hamburg49.41

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

36.4 euros per hour

Saxony-Anhalt

36.53 euros per hour

Thuringia

37.46 euros per hour

Saxony

38.24 euros per hour

Germany average

44.32 euros per hour

Hesse

47.83 euros per hour

Hamburg

49.41 euros per hour

Data from the article text

Eastern states and the Berlin exception

Saxony-Anhalt's labour cost rose 23.5% over four years to 36.53 euros per hour, according to the state statistics office, a faster increase than the national average. That made it the second cheapest state, behind only Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Thuringia recorded 37.46 euros net per hour, about eight euros more than four years earlier, and placed third lowest. Saxony came in at 38.24 euros, eleven euros less than Hamburg. Outside Berlin, the eastern states and Schleswig-Holstein all stayed below 40 euros, the federal figures show.

Thuringia's employers see the low costs as a location advantage, while unions criticise persistently low pay and limited collective bargaining coverage in the state. Matthias Kreft, managing director of the metal and electrical industry association, argued the cost structure works in the region's favour and pointed to longer working weeks in the eastern metal industry, typically 38 hours compared with 35 in western Germany.

“Our cost structure is more competitive than the one in the West.”

Sector spread

Differences between industries are wider than the gaps between regions. Air passenger transport cost 83.78 euros per hour nationwide, and tobacco manufacturing 75.82 euros. Financial and insurance services reached 62.31 euros. In Saxony, finance and insurance cost 53.34 euros and energy supply 51.39 euros, while hospitality was the cheapest sector at 23.99 euros. In Thuringia, hospitality cost 24.28 euros, a rise of 35% since 2020 that the state office attributed mainly to a higher minimum wage. Hospitality in Saxony-Anhalt cost 23.23 euros, and the tourism states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein recorded 25.73 and 26.68 euros for hospitality and accommodation.

Air passenger transport83.78

Tobacco products75.82

Finance and insurance62.31

All sectors44.32

Air passenger transport

83.78 euros per hour

Tobacco products

75.82 euros per hour

Finance and insurance

62.31 euros per hour

All sectors

44.32 euros per hour

Data from the article text

Cost components

Gross wages made up most of labour costs, and employer social contributions accounted for nearly all of the remainder, according to the Saxony-Anhalt office. Smaller items grew faster. Spending on vocational training rose 38.6% since 2020, and continued pay during illness increased 46.3% over eight years, though both remain minor parts of the total. Costs also climb with company size. In Thuringia, firms with 10 to 49 employees averaged 31.92 euros per hour, and the state data show that larger firms cost more again.

Data limits

The Federal Statistical Office said newer figures are not yet available, so every comparison in these releases refers to 2024. Several state offices published their own regional breakdowns on the same day, and their numbers match the federal benchmark of 44.32 euros nationwide.