Increased Minimum Wage Surpasses National Living Benefit
In East Germany, including Berlin, a single household faces a larger wage gap compared to the West, according to recent studies. This disparity is evident even in the disposable income of a single man, with unemployment benefits falling significantly short of a minimum wage job.
A single man on unemployment benefits would have a disposable income of 557 euros less than with a minimum wage job, a fact confirmed by the WSI's latest research. Even after accounting for the broadcasting fee of 18.36 euros, the difference between the disposable income of a single man on a minimum wage job and unemployment benefits remains over 500 euros.
Bettina Kohlrausch, the director of WSI, emphasized that recipients of unemployment benefits, regardless of household type and region of residence, have less money than employed persons earning the minimum wage.
As for the Traffic Light Coalition's (SPD, Greens, FDP) social policies regarding poverty reduction, housing cost assistance, and fair wages, the most recent information available does not provide specific details post-May 2025. While the coalition traditionally focuses on social equity measures such as reducing poverty, expanding affordable housing, and ensuring fair wages, no finalized laws or wide implementations are explicitly cited in the latest sources.
However, the coalition's plans and actions in these areas can be inferred from their known principles and previous policy trends. They aim to increase social benefits, reform basic income support, accelerate affordable housing construction, tighten rent regulations, and raise or maintain the statutory minimum wage, among other measures.
In terms of the wage gap, the districts of Munich, Dachau, and the city of Munich have the smallest gap, ranging from 379 to 444 euros. Conversely, Nordhausen and Vogtland district have the highest wage gap, at 662 and 652 euros, respectively.
Bettina Kohlrausch suggests that action is needed in creating affordable housing instead of focusing on the level of unemployment benefits. She also proposes qualification of employable people on unemployment benefits as a way to help.
It's important to note that the claim that people on unemployment benefits do not want to be employed because they can live well on unemployment benefits is factually incorrect and stigmatizing. Over 800,000 people on unemployment benefits are also so-called top-up recipients, receiving additional unemployment benefits because their income is not sufficient for living.
For the most accurate and up-to-date details on the Traffic Light Coalition's specific policies and implementations post-May 2025, monitoring official government releases and parliamentary legislation would be necessary.
The finance ministry's recent analysis reveals that the disposable income of a single man on a minimum wage job is over 500 euros more than those on unemployment benefits, even after considering the broadcasting fee. The Traffic Light Coalition, in its focus on social equity, plans to increase social benefits, reform basic income support, and raise the minimum wage, among other measures, although specific details post-May 2025 are not yet available in the latest sources.
