Many drivers in Germany are annoyed by the sharp rise in fuel prices as a result of the Iran war. According to a calculation by the German Economic Institute (IW), which is close to employers, employees currently have to work an average of four minutes and 53 seconds for one liter of gasoline – and therefore less than in other major crises of the past.
The calculation was based on the average net wage, which according to IW was most recently 25.56 euros per hour, as well as a price of 2.08 euros for a liter of premium gasoline. During the oil crisis in 1974, one liter required 6.3 minutes of work, and in 2011 and 2012, as a result of the Arab Spring, it took almost six minutes. The Ukraine war drove the value to 5.2 minutes in 2022.
The price of a liter of gasoline has increased sevenfold since 1960, said IW economist Christoph Schröder. “But the average net wage increased almost twenty-fold in the same period: from 1.29 euros to 25.56 euros per hour.” Anyone who wanted to refuel in 1960 had to work around 14 minutes – almost three times as long as today. “Because incomes have so clearly outpaced prices, people working at the pump can now afford more than they used to.”
According to Schröder, the working hours per liter are still a long way from the peak values of previous crises. “If the situation in the Middle East continues to deteriorate, this is likely to change.” At a price of 2.30 euros per liter of premium gasoline, employees would have to work for five minutes and 24 seconds, according to IW.