Real earnings rise in Germany

The government's official statistics office said on Thursday that real earnings from January to March saw a rise in income of some 2.5 percent compared to the first quarter of last year.

Nominal wages across Germany rose by an average of 2.5 percent, and consumer prices remained virtually the same over that period. As a result, German workers enjoyed a significant increase in spending power.

"This was the largest increase recorded since the beginning of the time series of the real earnings index in 2008," the authority said in a statement published on its website.

But the office said that it was impossible to quantify the extent to which Germany's new minimum wage, of 8.50 euros ($9.40) an hour, which was introduced on January 1, also played a part.

But the earnings of unskilled and semi-skilled workers increased well above the national average - 4.0 percent and 2.8 percent respectively - as did the earnings of those with little work, who saw a 5.0-percent rise.

The real earnings of people in sectors that typically employ minimum wage workers - catering, private security, and taxi drivers - all rose by more than 4 percent.

bk/uhe (dpa, Reuters)