New year, same pay
January 1, 2011
A survey from the Emnid Institute indicates that only 34 percent of Germans anticipate a pay raise in 2011 despite what is expected to be a strong year for Europe's biggest economy.
The survey, conducted for the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, surveyed 500 Germans over the age of 14.
The majority of those surveyed - 63 percent - do not think they will earn more in the New Year and indicated that 37 percent of people in western Germany anticipate a raise, while the figure is 23 percent for east Germans.
Forty-four percent of men believe they will earn more next year, compared to 25 percent of women.
Among high earners - those who earn more than 2,500 euros ($3,347) in take-home pay per month, 47 percent believe they will see more cash in 2011 than they did in 2010.
Healthy recovery
The result comes despite consistently good economic forecasts and various indicators suggesting Germany is recovery well from the global economic recession.
The German Council of Economic Experts - the so-called "wise men" of the German economy - predicted in November the economy would grow by 3.7 percent by the end of 2010, and by 2.2 percent in 2011 - a prognosis that exceeded official estimates from Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.
The experts also predicted reduced joblessness for 2011, with Germany set to dip below 3 million unemployed this year.
Author: Matt Zuvela (apn, dpa)
Editor: Ben Knight