Wages for employees in care professions have increased considerably over recent years. This information comes from responses by the Federal Ministry of Labour to an inquiry submitted by The Left party, which was reported by the “Rheinische Post” on its Friday edition.
According to the report, the median gross salary for full-time workers in care professions exceeded 4,120 euros at the end of 2024, marking an increase of approximately six percent compared to the previous year (when the salary was 3,870 euros). In contrast, in late 2020, the average earnings in the care sector were under 3,400 euros. The federal government based these figures on data from the Federal Employment Agency.
Simultaneously, the proportion of care workers earning low wages has decreased significantly. At the end of 2024, only 7.1 percent of full-time employees earned an income in the lower pay bracket. For comparison, this figure was 10.0 percent at the end of 2022, and as high as 14.7 percent in 2020. The lower pay bracket includes employees subject to social security contributions who earn less than two-thirds of the median salary. While skilled workers recently earned nearly 4,300 euros per month, assistants earned only about 3,200 euros.
Julia-Christina Stange, a Member of the Bundestag for The Left and chairwoman of the Health Committee, criticized this situation, arguing that assistants in the care profession are being “used as cheap, flexible reserves”.
Overall, the number of employees subject to social security contributions in care professions has risen in recent years. Mid-last year, the Federal Employment Agency recorded over 1.76 million employees in the sector-more than the 1.72 million recorded in 2024 and more than the nearly 1.63 million from 2020.