Press release No. 061 of 26 February 2016
WIESBADEN – Agreed monthly earnings in Germany, including extra payments, rose by an average 2.1% in 2015 on a year earlier. This confirms the provisional result released on 11 January 2016. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that it was the smallest increase recorded since 2011 (+1.7%). The items included in the calculation were agreed basic remuneration and agreed extra payments such as one-off payments, annual extra payments or agreed back payments. Gross monthly earnings actually paid are expected to have risen by 2.8% compared with the previous year (see press release no. 035 of 4 February 2016). Consumer prices went up by 0.3% over the same period.
The relatively small increase in agreed monthly earnings, including extra payments, is mainly due to a special effect in the previous year. In public service, high back payments had been made in 2014 (see press release no. 424 of 28 November 2014). As there were no such back payments in 2015, pay rises including extra payments were lower than a year earlier in areas where pay settlements are mainly based on the Collective Agreement for the Public Service of the Federation and the municipalities.