Although sales in online and mail order retail have risen sharply, employees earn significantly less than in other sectors. The average gross monthly income (median) of full-time employees subject to social security contributions was 2,952 euros in 2022. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of Labor to a request from the Left party in the Bundestag. “Spiegel” had previously reported on it.
As a result, almost 30 percent of employees in online and mail order retail even received a wage below the low wage threshold of 2,501 euros gross per month. So they receive less than two thirds of the average gross monthly income of all full-time employees subject to social security contributions.
Across all sectors, workers in the economy as a whole earn significantly better. The median income in 2022 was 3,646 euros gross per month. Only one in six worked in the low-wage sector.
Up about 8 percent
The median income divides the population into two equal halves: one has more, the other less. According to the Federal Ministry of Labor, the median income in online and mail order retail rose by a good eight percent between 2018 and 2021, while sales climbed much more rapidly from almost 70.5 to 120 billion euros, according to figures from the Federal Statistical Office.
“The Internet and mail order business is booming and, especially at Christmas time, employees work piecework to keep up with the countless orders. But while the entrepreneurs earn a fortune, hardly any of the record sales reach the employees’ wallets,” said the Left Party. Bundestag member Susanne Ferschl. She calls for stronger collective bargaining and an increase in the minimum wage to 14 euros per hour.
