German Wage Accord Seen Risking Job Cuts That Foil Aims

Germany’s nationwide minimum wage to be introduced by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s third-term coalition risks killing jobs while failing to narrow income inequality, German economists say.

The 8.50 euro ($11.55) per hour wage floor set in her governing pact with the Social Democrats “would not even out inequalities in the disposable incomes of private households or significantly reduce poverty,” according to the Berlin-based DIW economic institute. A potential increase in unemployment will depend on exceptions to the general rule, it said.