Promoting employment and preventing unemployment are core objectives of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Having a job not only means financial security: it strengthens independence and enables participation in social life.
Employment promotion in Germany, regulated in the Third Book of the Social Code (SGB III), has three main objectives: preventing unemployment, reducing the duration of unemployment, and helping to balance supply and demand on the labour market and in vocational training. Other objectives include promoting gender equality and improving the employability of individuals, especially the long-term unemployed. In Germany, employment promotion is often also referred to as unemployment insurance. In practice, employment promotion is implemented by the Federal Employment Agency (with headquarters in Nuremberg) and its employment agencies at the local level.
The SGB III offers support not only for people at risk of unemployment or already unemployed, but also for young people who are at the beginning of their working life. The promotion of vocational training is a central component of these policies. The individual support measures of the SGB III help young people to find a job or vocational training more quickly.
Employment promotion law is constantly under development. One of the main challenges is to adapt the skills and qualifications of workers and jobseekers to a changing labour market shaped by demographic and structural change as well as the digital transformation. Re- and upskilling is a prerequisite for the long-term success of individuals in the labour market and for the competitiveness of companies. To secure employment and prevent unemployment, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs uses active labour market policies. These include placement in work and training, the short-time work allowance, continuing education and training, the integration allowance for employers, the start-up allowance and the support allowances for people with disabilities.
Another of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs’ main tasks is to provide financial security in the event of job loss through unemployment insurance (unemployment benefits) or the newly introduced citizen's benefit (Bürgergeld) regulated in the Second Book of the Social Code (SGB II).