6.3 million people work for low wages in Germany

A total of 6.3 million people in Germany worked for low wages at the point of calculation this year, earning a maximum hourly wage of €14.32 ($16.69), the Federal Statistical Office reported on Friday.

The statistics are based on the month of April 2025, when salary averages are calculated, according to the office which is also known as Destatis.

This corresponds to a share of 16% of all jobs, on a par with the rate in 2024.

In April 2014, the share of low-earning jobs was 21%. The level of people in such jobs has decreased since then, especially in the years 2022 and 2023.

What is the low-wage sector?

Germany’s  threshold is set at two thirds of the median gross hourly wage, not counting trainees, meaning that the figure varies according to overall salary rates.

The threshold was €14.32 in April 2025. In April 2024, it was €13.79.

The threshold is different to the statutory minimum wage, which is set at €12.82 this year and is set to rise to €13.90 at the start of 2026.

The decline in the low-salary sector since 2014 is primarily due to the minimum wage, according to Dorothee Spannagel from the Economic and Social Science Institute (WSI) of the union-affiliated Hans Böckler Foundation.

“It [the minimum wage] has put more money in the pockets of many people and reduced wage inequalities,” she said.

Hospitality industry largest low-wage sector

Just over half, or 51%, of the jobs in the hospitality industry are remunerated with low salaries, Destatis further reported.

Low pay is also prevalent in agriculture, forestry and fishing, with a share of 45%.

In the field of the arts, entertainment and recreation, about one in three, or 36%, receives.

The so-called wage spread, or the gap between the bottom 10% of the wage scale and the top 10%, remained unchanged in the statistics.

On an hourly basis, high earners received €39.65, which is 2.95 times the rate of low earners, who averaged €13.46.