"Solid employment growth continues unabated," the Federal Labor Office (BA) commented, with some believing full employment was just around the corner.

But there's a downside to it all. One in five employees only gets a sub-standard wage, that's about 8 million people across the nation. While that figure is from 2010, it seems unlikely that the recent introduction of a minimum wage of 8.50 euros ($9.30) per hour will have severely impacted the low-wage sector. In Germany, you belong to that sector if you earn less than 10.36 euros per hour anyway.

Fewer jobless, but more low-wage workers

Sociologist Christoph Köhler from Jena University, a renowned German labor market researcher, says there's a direct link.

"Joblessness in Germany has gone down, but the low-wage sector has increased," he said. "This means that unemployment has largely been turned into low-paying jobs."

He added it was a matter of political disposition whether to welcome or criticize this trend. "Leftists forces in the country would say that's no improvement, while others might say it's better to have a low-paying job than no job at all."

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