Labor market: The earnings gap between Germans and foreigners remains large
More than 30 percent of foreign full-time employees work for low wages. For German citizens, the proportion is significantly lower. Why the wage differences are so large.
The pay gap between German and foreign full-time employees in Germany was 23.6% at the end of 2025, according to a response from the Federal Ministry of Labour to an AfD inquiry in the Bundestag. The median monthly gross salary for German full-time employees was €4,396, while for foreign full-time employees it was €3,358. 30.6% of foreign full-time employees earned a low wage, compared to 12.3% of German employees.
The median salaries for both German and foreign employees increased, with those without a vocational qualification earning €3,133, those with a recognised vocational qualification earning €4,069, and academics earning €6,146.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
