The base wage for temporary employees in Germany will be raised by 2.5 per cent this year thanks to the completion of a national agreement.

The Association of Temporary Employers (BZA) and the German Confederation of Trade Unions, which represents the interests of eight separate industry unions, have secured an accord to raise wages for temporary employees by five per cent by 2011.

Half of this pay increase will come into effect on May 1st 2010 - with the other 50 per cent becoming active on the same data in 2011.

As well as this increase in basic remuneration, the agreement has secured a one-off payment of 80 euros for temporary employees when they secure work.

Thomas Baumer, representative of BZA, explained that this tariff will affect one-third of all temporary workers in Germany.

He told Die Zeit: "This agreement will raise wages for temporary employees who work for BZA member staffing agencies on 1 May 2009 to 7.56 Euro in West Germany and to 6.62 Euro in East Germany."

Germany's unemployment rate increased by 0.1 per cent to 8.2 per cent in January, as the unusually cold weather hitting the country affected productivity.