Berlin (dpa) - German pay packets rose at their fastest pace in three years in 2017, giving a boost to private consumption, which has been a key force behind the robust growth rate in Europelsquo;s biggest economy.Pay agreements resulted in employee salaries posting their sixth consecutive annual gain in 2017, rising on average by 2.3 per cent compared to 2016 and significantly higher than the 1.7-per-cent inflation, the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) said on Thursday.Wages were up 2 per cent in 2016, the Wiesbaden-based Destatis said. The 2017 increase represented the biggest gain since 2014 when they surged by 3.2 per cent.With extra benefits and bonuses, wage rates rose 2.8 per cent this year compared with 2016, Destatis said.Nuremberg-based market research institute (GfK) said it expects private consumption to grow by at least 1.5 per cent this year with higher wages, a solid jobs market, record low interest rates and subdued inflation helping to power ahead household spending.
