Labour market developments, non-standard employment and low wages in Germany

Abstract

In terms of basic labour market developments and outcomes Germany is faring comparatively well. Indeed, against the European trend, Germany saw employment rates increasing and unemployment decreasing during the economic crisis. But since the deregulatory Hartz reforms of the early and mid-2000s, the last decade saw non-standard forms of employment increasing substantially and the low wage sector surging. One of the aims of the Hartz reforms was to increase employment opportunities, among other in the low wage sector, especially in services. Non-standard workers and among them fixed-term, temporary agency workers, regular part-time workers and mini-jobbers are disproportionally affected by low wages.