Labor market policy

News


Press release February 6, 2019

Still good labor market development leads to further decline in shadow economy in 2019 (in German).

In 2019, the size of the shadow economy in Germany will decrease by around EUR 5 billion. The ratio of the shadow economy to official GDP will thus fall to just over 9 percent. The main reason for this is the continuing good labor market situation, which so far has not been affected by the weaker growth outlook. In addition, lower taxes for the small self-employed make it more worthwhile to register a business.



Press release June 27, 2018

Companies use many levers to absorb cost increases resulting from the minimum wage (in German).

A general statutory minimum wage was introduced in Germany at the beginning of 2015. On behalf of the Minimum Wage Commission, the IAW has now conducted a comprehensive qualitative study in industries that were heavily affected by the minimum wage to investigate the reactions of companies and employees to the minimum wage. The study showed that companies use a wide range of adaptation strategies to respond to the changes resulting from the introduction of the minimum wage.



Publications

Ronald Bachmann, Martin Biewen, Natalie Herdegen, Philipp Kugler, u.a. In: German Economic Review, published online by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, November 4, 2026, https://doi.org/10.1515/ger-2025-0099.


Martin Biewen, Philipp Kugler, Alexa Weikinger

New Evidence on the Pay Gap in Temporary Agency Work in Germany.
In: Journal for Labour Market Research, forthcoming.



Andreas Koch, Marcel Reiner, Tobias Scheu, u.a.

Is Large-Scale Labor Mobility a Blind Spot in Local Emergency Response in Rural Areas?
In: Notfallfürsorge, Volume 57 (2026), Issue 3, pp. 14-23.


Bernhard Boockmann, Matthias Fauth, Andreas Koch Study commissioned by the Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce Tübingen, September 17, 2026.