Acting Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a news conference at the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) headquarters in Berlin, Germany, November 27, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, currently trying to form a new coalition government after September’s election, said on Wednesday Germany needed to keep non-wage costs below 40 percent and stressed the importance of budget consolidation.

Speaking in a video message played at an employers’ conference in Berlin, Merkel said it “remains important to keep non-wage costs under the 40 percent mark”.

Merkel, who is expected to start coalition talks with the Social Democrats (SPD) after attempts to form an awkward three-way alliance with the liberals and Greens failed, said that during the upcoming talks with the SPD she would emphasize that Germany needed to stick to its course of growth-friendly investment and budget consolidation.