Up to now, unemployed people have generally had to stay locally in order to be placed in a job by the Federal Employment Agency. This is set to change.
The more than 900,000 people in Germany who receive unemployment benefit I should be able to find jobs more easily. The requirement for personal interviews at the employment agency, which is still in force in some cases, should be abolished and the possibility of advice and placement via video call should be expanded. This is one of the innovations in a draft law by Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD), as the German Press Agency learned on Tuesday from government circles in Berlin.
The draft bill aims to make job promotion more modern, citizen-friendly and less bureaucratic. Digitization and automation are the means to achieve this. It is already possible to register as jobseekers and unemployed online with the Federal Employment Agency. Companies can apply for funding or short-time work benefits online. “These digitization steps must be consistently continued,” says the draft bill. Young people and people with foreign professional qualifications should also be reached more.
Compulsory attendance to be abolished
The obligation to be available locally for job placement is to be abolished. “In future, it will be sufficient for the unemployed to be reachable if they are in Germany or in a country close to the border and can take note of notifications and suggestions from the employment agency on professional integration on a working day,” according to the draft.
The calculation of unemployment benefit is to be simplified. Deductions for a social security flat rate, income tax and the solidarity surcharge are to be taken into account earlier and subsequent calculations are to be avoided. Certain measures that were previously reserved for young people on citizen’s allowance will be extended to recipients of unemployment benefit I. Youth employment agencies are to be strengthened and funding for accommodation costs for career orientation internships is to be increased.
Millions in costs
The plans would only result in minor additional expenditure for the federal budget. The cost for the Federal Employment Agency is expected to be around 59 million euros in additional expenditure in 2025, which is expected to increase to around 161 million euros annually by 2027 and to 197 million euros by 2029.
Source: Stern
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