Germany negotiated wages ex one-off payments, monthly
Germany negotiated wages ex one-off payments, monthly stood at 149.2 in Jul 2026, according to Deutsche Bundesbank. It is one of the indicators in the Negotiated wages table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from Jan 1991 to Jul 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Negotiated wages table
| Indicator | 07-2026 | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | 11-2025 | 10-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall economy | |||||||||||
| Pay rates, overall economy, all items excluding one-off payments, on a monthly | 149.2 | 113.3 | 113.6 | 113.3 | 111.5 | 115.1 | 111.4 | 112.9 | 167.9 | 110.9 | |
| Pay rates, overall economy, all items excluding one-off payments, on an hourly | 149.5 | 113.5 | 113.9 | 113.6 | 111.7 | 115.4 | 111.7 | 113.1 | 168.3 | 111.1 |
Understanding germany negotiated wages ex one-off payments, monthly
Isolates the recurrent monthly salaries established through collective bargaining across the German labor force by explicitly stripping out irregular lump-sum transfers. This metric focuses purely on the structural, permanent increases in baseline pay schedules and regular ancillary benefits. By discarding one-off elements like inflation-relief bonuses, holiday money, or signing bonuses, the resulting index provides a smoother representation of underlying wage pressures than the inclusive sibling series. Because it measures monthly rather than hourly compensation, it ignores the mathematical effects of negotiated reductions in working time as long as the total standard paycheck remains untouched.
Removing one-time payouts eliminates the sharpest seasonal distortions, making period-on-period comparisons more reliable here than in the broader wage metrics. However, base effects can still skew the reading when older agreements expire and new permanent pay scales take effect simultaneously across major industries. The shift to Index 2020=100 occasionally generates methodological discontinuities as the relative importance of different sectors gets recalibrated to match modern economic realities. Users should be aware that early releases remain vulnerable to retroactive revisions if protracted union negotiations conclude with backdated baseline salary adjustments.
Frequently asked questions
- Why strip out lump-sum payments from the monthly index?
- Removing irregular bonuses reveals the underlying trajectory of permanent baseline salary increases without the extreme volatility caused by one-time settlements.
- Are regular annual bonuses included in this measure?
- No, any payment that does not recur on a standard monthly basis is excluded to maintain focus on continuous standard remuneration.
- How do backdated union deals affect the historical index values?
- When negotiations result in retroactive salary bumps, previously published index values are revised upwards to reflect the true agreed minimums for those past months.