The number of temporary workers in Germany rose by +3.6% to 800,400 in July 2014, compared with the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the Statistical Office of the Federal Employment Agency (BAP).

Compared with June, there were 21,100 more temporary workers in July, equating to a month-on-month increase of +2.7%. It should be noted that there is a seasonal impact on temporary employment figures during the summer months.

Despite the year-on-year and month-on-month growth, the number of temporary workers remains below the average of 838,820 for the whole of 2013.   

The Employment Barometer from the Institute for Economic Research (Ifo), which covers the whole labour market, also recently revealed a fairly sluggish employment environment.

The labour market has been something of a battleground in German politics since the formation of the current coalition government in November last year. The implementation of a national minimum wage was a non-negotiable hurdle to the formation of the coalition agreement between Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrat Party (SPD).

Unlike most European Union countries, Germany has resisted a minimum wage, in part because it was seen as political interference in wage bargaining between unions and employers. Instead it relies on collective wage deals by sector and region.

However, as wages in neighbouring Poland and the Czech Republic are lower, some fear companies in Germany’s eastern states could move their operations across the border to keep labour costs down.

The minimum wage of €8.50 per hour will be introduced in 2015. Staffing Industry Analysts does not expect a national minimum wage to have a large effect on temporary workers however, given that minimum wages, especially for higher-skilled workers are higher than €8.50 per hour already and because many blue collar industry sectors have collective bargaining agreements in place already establishing a minimum rate.

For more information on the German staffing industry, please see Staffing Industry Analysts’ 2014 Largest Staffing and Talent Engagement Firms in Germany report.