Employers, who normally share with the worker welfare costs amounting to nearly 42% of gross wages, would pay a flat-rate contribution of 25% on jobs up to euro400, reduced to 12% for mini-jobs (cleaners and au pairs, for example) in private households.

ECONOMIST: Reform in Germany

Despite clawing 40% of gross earnings in social-security contributions from employers and employees' pay-packets, the scheme by no means covers expenditure.

ECONOMIST: Italian pensions

The unemployment-insurance contribution, laboriously scaled back from 6.5% of gross pay to 2.8%, may soon rise, followed perhaps by the health contribution, now 14.9%.

ECONOMIST: Germany's election