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Who belongs to the top 10 percent of earners in Germany?

A new study shows who belongs to Germany's top earning group - and how much income they need to earn per month to qualify.

Published: 8 July 2020 11:52 CEST
Who belongs to the top 10 percent of earners in Germany?
Woman withdrawing money from an atm in Berlin. Photo: DPA

Any single person who has an income of €3,529 net per month or higher belongs to the top ten percent of earners in Germany.

That's up a couple hundred euros from 2016, when an individual had to earn at least €3,342 to qualify for the upper tenth.

READ ALSO: This is how much employees earn in Germany

The figures come from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), a regular survey of 16,000 households throughout Germany conducted by the German Economic Institute (IW) in Cologne. 

Couples without children are part of the top ten percent starting at a net household income of €5,294, whereas a family with two children under 14 years of age qualifies with a new income of €7,412. 

The researchers found that 55 percent of the top earners in Germany were men. Couples without children comprised 48 percent of top earners, followed by singles at 31 percent.

Most of the top earners were “highly qualified employees” such as engineers or doctors (24 percent) with an advanced degree, followed by employees in “qualified jobs” (16 percent) such as skilled workers, foremen or craftsmen.

The IW published the following interactive calculator (How wealthy am I in comparison?) so that employees can see how they measure up to other income earners in Germany. 

It begins by asking: “How high is your monthly household net income in euros?” “How many people from the age of 14 live in your household?” and “How many people under 14 live in your household?”

More than eight million people

“Subjectively, very few people feel that they belong to the upper tenth, although the group comprises a little over eight million people,” said IW economist Judith Niehues. 

At the same time, most people believed that the proportion of rich people in Germany was above 20 percent.”

Very few people therefore feel rich themselves, but at the same time think that there are quite a lot of rich people.”

READ ALSO: This is how much German professionals earn in different industries

The average net salary of employees in Germany was around €1,900 as of 2018, according to the Federal Statistical Office. The difference in salary between men and women stands at €600 per month. 

An expert from the Hans Böckler Foundation, which works closely with trade unions, pointed out that existing inequalities are likely to be further aggravated by the coronavirus crisis. 

“After a decade of strong economic growth and record employment, inequality in Germany is still so high that one cannot be satisfied with it,” the foundation director, Bettina Kohlrausch, told DPA

Vocabulary

skilled worker – der Facharbeiter/die Facharbeiterin 

affluent/wealthy – wohlhabend

definitions of wealth – (die) Reichtumsdefinition

aggravate/exacerbate – verschärfen

We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

 

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

Published: 7 February 2024 10:54 CET
Updated: 10 February 2024 08:20 CET
Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions. 

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local. 

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with. 

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