Labour market trends and income inequality in Germany, 1983–2020

This study analyses the development of inequality in Germany from 1983 to 2020, focusing on labour market trends and income inequality. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we show that one of the most important trends in the German labour market in recent decades has been the increasing participation of women in the labour market. In addition, we confirm previous findings that inequality in earnings and household disposable income increased from the 1990s to 2005. Since then, inequality has not increased further despite changes in the composition of the labour force that tend to increase inequality, such as increased assortative matching and high net migration rates.