According to an estimate by Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) based on the earnings survey conducted in April 2025, up to 4.8 million jobs nationwide will be affected by the increase of the statutory minimum wage to 13.90 € per hour on 1 January 2026. This means that roughly every eighth employment relationship (about 12 %) was, in April 2025, below the new minimum wage. If those jobs were paid at the new rate, the resulting rise in individual earnings would be estimated at up to 6 % – an aggregate increase of about 275 million €.
The calculation assumes that every affected worker was receiving at least the previous minimum wage of 12.82 € per hour. Any wage increases that occurred after April 2025 were not taken into account, so the estimates serve as upper limits.
A first estimate using the April 2024 earnings data had shown 6.6 million jobs that would be affected. The lower figure now reflects, among other things, wage rises that took place in the interim period.
Because women more frequently work in lower‑paid jobs, they benefit disproportionately from the increase. About 14 % of employment relationships involving women would see a rise in hourly earnings, compared with roughly 11 % for men. Sectorwise, hospitality is hit hardest (47 % of jobs), followed by “agriculture, forestry, fishing” (37 %) and “arts, entertainment and recreation” (33 %). The least affected sector is “public administration, defence, social security” with just over 1 %. Regional disparities are also evident: in eastern Germany the share of affected jobs is around 14 %, slightly higher than the 12 % in the west. Across states, Saxony has the highest share at nearly 15 %, while Bavaria has the lowest at 10 %.
Looking ahead, the minimum wage is scheduled to rise again on 1 January 2027 to 14.60 € per hour. Using the April 2025 earnings data, Destatis estimates that a maximum of 7 million jobs – about 18 % – will be impacted by this step. If those jobs were paid at the new rate, the estimated increase in total earnings would be about 4 % or roughly 315 million € compared with the first step from 1 January 2026. This projection also assumes that all affected employees had at least the 13.90 € minimum wage from 1 January 2026 and ignores wage increases after April 2025, so the figures should again be regarded as upper bounds.
