Germany nominal employee compensation, residence concept
Germany nominal employee compensation, residence concept stood at 638.3 EUR billion in Q2 2026, according to Deutsche Bundesbank. It is one of the indicators in the Quarterly national accounts table (Value · Quarterly), with a complete series running from Q1 1991 to Q2 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Quarterly national accounts table
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall economy | |||||||||||
| Compensation of employees (residence concept), At current prices, seasonally adjusted only | 638.3 | 630.91 | 627.82 | 621.94 | 614.61 | 607.72 | 600.35 | 591.88 | 585.64 | 580.35 | |
| GDP, Price index, seasonally adjusted only | 126.81 | 125.93 | 125.35 | 124.36 | 123.46 | 122.6 | 121.49 | 120.57 | 119.94 | 119.25 |
Understanding germany nominal employee compensation, residence concept
Remuneration payable by employers to formally resident employees, whether working domestically or abroad, defines this aggregate. This contrasts with the domestic concept used elsewhere in the accounts, which tallies wages paid by resident businesses to any worker, including cross-border commuters. It encompasses both direct cash wages and employers' social contributions, providing a complete picture of the labor income flowing to the resident population.
Being seasonally adjusted only, the series smooths out predictable intra-year variations like summer holidays or winter bonuses but retains irregularities from the number of working days in a given quarter. This makes quarter-on-quarter analysis viable, though users must be aware of calendar effects such as late Easters artificially skewing the data. Revisions are common when definitive tax records replace early sampling estimates.
Frequently asked questions
- Are the wages of foreign nationals working temporarily in the country included?
- Only if their primary economic residence has shifted to the country; temporary cross-border commuters are excluded under the residence concept.
- Does this measure reflect the take-home pay of employees?
- No, it represents the total cost to employers, including income taxes and social contributions that are deducted before the worker is paid.
- How do currency fluctuations affect this series?
- Earnings of residents working abroad are converted to the local currency, meaning exchange rate movements can influence the total independently of actual wage changes.