The comparatively high wage settlements in the past year make it possible: the purchasing power of Germans will be significantly greater in 2024 than in 2023. However, inflation will eat up a large part of this.
In 2024, German citizens can expect a significant increase in purchasing power. This was determined by the Society for Consumer Research (GfK) in a recent study.
Purchasing power refers to the income of private households available for consumption purposes. This is the amount that a household has at its disposal after deducting all regularly recurring payment obligations such as rent, insurance or loan installments. It also includes state transfer payments such as pensions, unemployment benefits and child benefits.
A little more purchasing power than inflation
According to GfK, purchasing power will increase faster than inflation in the year that has just begun. According to the institute’s calculations, purchasing power will be 27,848 euros per capita, as the GfK market researchers predicted. This corresponds to an increase of 2.8 percent or 767 euros. Overall, the researchers predict purchasing power of around 2.35 trillion euros this year.
“This means that the increase in purchasing power would at least be able to compensate for the inflation of 2.7 percent currently forecast by the Bundesbank,” says GfK expert Filip Vojtech. “Due to the political uncertainties, consumer spending continues to be subdued and Germans will probably save more money again this year.”
Really probably more in your pocket
Thanks to the good wage agreements for many employees, real wages can be expected to rise minimally this year. The real wage determines the earnings that employees actually have, taking price changes into account. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), real wages have fallen every year since 2020. In the long term, however, wages follow inflation and tend to compensate for it.
Starnberg is particularly rich, Gelsenkirchen is particularly poor
Purchasing power in Germany will continue to vary regionally in 2024. In Bavaria it has been the highest for years and, according to calculations, is 30,130 euros. That is a good eight percent above the national average. Baden-Württemberg again takes second place with 29,675 euros, which is 18 euros more than the third-placed Hamburg. Bremen takes the lowest place: residents there have an average of 24,702 euros at their disposal, which is just over eleven percent below the national average. The level is also comparatively low in Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Starnberg in Bavaria remains the richest district. The per capita purchasing power there is 38,702 euros and 39 percent above the national average. This means that the people of Starnberg have 1,157 euros more than the residents of the second-placed district of Munich. As in previous years, the urban district of Gelsenkirchen is at the bottom of the purchasing power comparison. With a per capita purchasing power of 22,007 euros, residents there have 21 percent less available for spending and saving than the average German.