Because minijobs are exempt from social‑security contributions, the German social‑insurance system loses billions of euros each year. Data from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, released on a request from the Left party and reported by the ”Rheinische Post” (Saturday), show that for every 100 € of earnings that are paid exempt from contributions, the state misses out on about 11.30 € in revenue. With the 2024 average minijob wage of 387 €, the loss works out to roughly 44 € per job per month.
Minijobs generally involve no or only minimal fees for pension, health, unemployment, and long‑term care insurance. If all 7.9 million minijob employees were made subject to compulsory contributions from the first euro worked, the potential annual gains could exceed four billion euros – though the ministry cautions that these figures are not suitable for straight extrapolation because of undisclosed adjustment reactions that may be hidden in the data.
Pascal Meiser, the Left’s spokesperson for labour policy, called the existing minijob system a “massive undermining of the financing base of our solidarity‑based social‑insurance system”. He described it as “absurd” to continue to maintain this parallel world. Meiser welcomed the recent recognition of the issue by some factions of the CDU but insisted that Minister Bas “must now act, present a proposal, and move minijobs into fully socially insured employment”.
