It is to be hoped that wages and salaries will continue to rise at only a moderate pace. There will be relief in the case of non-wage labour costs if - as already announced - a number of statutory health insurance institutions lowers their contribution rates in the course of 2004.
However, the fall in rates is likely to be less than the federal government expected when it was devising the healthcare reform that has now come into effect. Compared to 2003, there are almost five additional working days in Germany this year. However, it is not clear to what extent this additional working time will actually be used for production.