Despite the minimum wage: many are in need

Abstract

"In February 2015, the number of persons in dependent employment receiving Hartz IV dropped in comparison to December 2014 more strongly than in the previous years. This is apparent from the most recent figures published by the Federal Employment Agency. However, when viewed against the background that the minimum wage was also linked to the hope of getting more people away from dependency on the receipt of basic income support, the drop has been rather small up to now in view of the over 1 million topper-uppers. There are several reasons for this: Most of the topper-uppers only work part-time or in marginal employment so that, even if a person has a wage higher than the minimum wage, it is not possible for him/her to reach an income level which guarantees subsistence. A further reason is that in households with several persons often only one member of the household works and his/her income is not sufficient to cover the needs of the household as a whole." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku)

Cite article

Bruckmeier, K. & Wiemers, J. (2015): Trotz Mindestlohn: viele bedürftig. In: Wirtschaftsdienst, Vol. 95, No. 7, p. 444. DOI:10.1007/s10273-015-1847-2