More than half of Germans think it’s no longer worth working after new increases in welfare benefits, according to a poll by the INSA Institute on behalf of the BILD newspaper.

According to the survey, 52% of respondents say there is no incentive to work for a full-time minimum wage earner, as they do not ultimately earn much more than an unemployed person living on benefits.

Germans also seem divided on whether the increases decided by the government are right or not. 45% approve them, while 44% consider them unjustified.

In the 2024 budget, the basic unemployment benefit increases from €502 to €563 for an unemployed single person without children. Increases are also given to low-income parents, who will receive from 2025 636 euros for the first child and 530 for each child after, from the general allowance of 250 euros for each child, as is currently the case. With the minimum wage at €1450 (net), full-time minimum wage work is no longer considered sufficiently attractive by many.

“Our priority is to maintain incentives to work. Employment will be a condition for some of the benefits, precisely because parental unemployment is an important factor that leads to children below the poverty line,” said Finance Minister Christian Lindner, defending the government’s decisions.