Structural change in the labour market researched by Melanie Arntz
Since January 2025, Melanie Arntz is vice director of the IAB and professor of labour market and occupational research at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Her research focus is on structural changes in the labour market, particularly in the wake of technological progress. She deals with the question of how new technologies such as artificial intelligence change employment, wages and inequality in the labour market, what new requirements come with them and how occupations, jobs and companies develop due to new technologies.
For more information on her career and publications, please visit her profile.
Current events
Ten years of minimum wage
PThe establishment of a statutory minimum wage has been a contentious issue, with recurrent deliberations ongoing regarding its precise level. Over the past decade, the minimum wage has been incrementally increased from €8.50 to €12.82 per hour. In June 2025, the autonomous Minimum Wage Commission is scheduled to unveil its recommendations for the subsequent adjustment. In the public debate, demands for an increase in the minimum wage to €15 have been a recurring theme.
How does the statutory minimum wage affect pay and employment? How does the level at which the minimum wage is set, in combination with other factors, affect supply and demand in the labour market? And what consequences might this have for distribution, hardship, social inclusion, productivity, prices, competition, working conditions, and company structures?
We have compiled a list of current IAB publications and projects on a dedicated page that are related to the subject of the minimum wage.
