Salaries for employees in care professions have seen a significant increase over the past few years, according to figures reported by the “Rheinische Post” which sourced the information from answers provided by the Federal Ministry of Labour to an inquiry by the Left Party. The median gross salary for full-time employees in care professions was reported to exceed 4,120 euros at the end of 2024. This represents an increase of approximately six percent compared to the previous year, when the salary was 3,870 euros. By the end of 2020, the median earnings in the care sector were less than 3,400 euros, according to these figures, which were based on data from the Federal Employment Agency.
Despite the general rise in wages, the proportion of care workers earning in the lower salary bracket has noticeably decreased. For instance, at the end of 2024, only 7.1 percent of full-time employees earned in the low-income range. This is a drop compared to 10.0 percent in 2022 and 14.7 percent in 2020. This low-income bracket is defined as including employees who have mandatory social insurance and earn less than two-thirds of the median salary. While skilled professionals recently earned nearly 4,300 euros per month, assistants only made a little over 3,200 euros.
In the context of these trends, Julia-Christina Stange, a Member of Parliament for the Left Party and the chief spokesperson for the Health Committee, criticized that care assistants are being “used as cheap, flexible reserves”. Overall, the total number of employees with mandatory social insurance in care professions has risen in recent years. The Federal Employment Agency recorded over 1.76 million workers in the sector mid-last year, which was more than the figure for 2024 (which was around 1.72 million) and 2020 (which was just under 1.63 million).
