Dhe real wages in Germany fell noticeably more sharply in the past year than previously assumed. The Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden released revised results on Thursday that showed real wages fell by 4 percent from 2021 levels – 0.9 percentage points larger than the decline reported at the beginning of March. At that time, the statisticians had assumed a minus of 3.1 percent.
According to the information, this is the sharpest decline since the start of the time series in 2008. Real wages fell in 2022 for the third year in a row.
The reason was the significant increase in consumer prices of 6.9 percent. Growth in nominal wages, which rose by 2.6 percent according to the revised data, could not keep up. The calculation basis for nominal wages had changed, which is why their increase was 0.9 percentage points lower than initially announced.
People had less purchasing power. Inflation had already wiped out wage increases the year before. In 2020, it was primarily the short-time work, which skyrocketed during the Corona crisis, that put pressure on nominal wages.