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Minimum Wage in Construction Industry: No Evidence of Employment Effects

Report of November 21, 2012

The debate on a general statutory minimum wage in Germany prevails. Meanwhile, there have been comprehensive evaluations of minimum wages for specific industries. The present paper discusses the empirical studies on the wage and employment effects of the minimum wage in the German construction industry. These studies were unable to provide substantial evidence of employment effects. Both the limited available data and general employment trends in this sector make such evaluation studies difficult; since the mid-1990s, the number of jobs in the construction industry has halved. No reliable estimates regarding the employment effects of introducing a general minimum wage can be derived from the results of evaluations of sector-specific minimum wages to date.

The complete publication in German by Kai-Uwe Müller in: DIW Wochenbericht 47/2012 (PDF, 144 KB)
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