Abstract

The nursing sector is acutely short of skilled workers. Due to the demographically induced aging of the population, the situation will worsen in the long term. One of the reasons cited for the shortage of skilled workers is excessively low salaries. Until 2019, wages in nursing largely rose in line with general wage trends, while increases in geriatric care were above average. After 2019, wages in both nursing and geriatric care grew above average, in contrast to general wage trends. The latter stagnated in the coronavirus year 2020, primarily due to the extensive use of short-time work benefits (Pusch/Seifert 2021: 99). Since 2021, inflation has played an increasingly important role, as its above-average increase has reduced real wage increases significantly more than in the past. In order to classify the nominal wage development, we therefore also calculate the price-adjusted real wage development on the basis of the consumer price index compiled by the Federal Statistical Office.