background
Millions of people are unemployed in Germany. The official figures are published monthly by the Federal Employment Agency. But not everyone who is looking for a job shows up in the statistics. The most important reason is clear at a glance.
Is Unemployment Statistics embellishment?
yes and no. After all, who counts as unemployed is a matter of definition. The official standards are regulated by German law. Every change affects statistics. Politicians have repeatedly reinvented the standards, making unemployment numbers officially drop.
Only in a few cases have changes in the law led to an increase in unemployment in official statistics. A well-known example is the Hartz IV reform, since from 2005 employable recipients of social assistance were included in the statistics. According to the Federal Employment Agency (BA), this Hartz IV effect added about 380,000 unemployed persons at the time.
Who is considered unemployed?
Anyone who is officially unemployed in Germany is determined by SGB III. In principle, this legal definition is broad: it includes all unemployed or working less than 15 hours per week, who are looking for work with social security contributions of at least 15 hours per week and are available through employment agencies. In addition, those affected must personally register with the employment agency to seek work. However, the detailed rules mean that millions of people do not meet the standards in practice and do not show up in unemployment statistics. Pupils, students and pensioners are generally not considered unemployed, even if they are of working age. In general, only persons who have reached the age of 15 and have not exceeded the statutory retirement age are considered unemployed.
who is missing Unemployment statistics?
Those who did not register for work did not appear in the statistics. The same goes for anyone who can’t or doesn’t want to work at least 15 hours a week. Anyone who called in sick during that time was also excluded from the count. However, those supported by labor market policy instruments are missing from unemployment statistics. This applies to continuing education and training as well as training and employment creation measures. Anyone who has a one-euro job or receives a start-up grant is not officially unemployed. The statistics also do not include all persons over the age of 58 who have received Unemployment Benefit II for at least 12 months and have not held any work requiring Social Security contributions during that time. In addition, the employment agency removes from the statistics all persons who are difficult to place because they have not fulfilled their obligations when looking for a job – for example, because they are unwilling or not willing in time to participate in the measures taken by the employment agency, or because they refuse to accept ” reasonable employment under the usual conditions of the labor market in which he or she is involved”.
How many unemployed are there?
How many jobs were lost in Germany can only be estimated. In addition to the number of unemployed, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) also publishes other figures to illustrate the unemployment gap. The so-called “generalized unemployment” also includes all those supported by certain labor market policy instruments (e.g. job creation measures, one-euro jobs, professional training) or simply excluded from official statistics because they are over 58 and Have not received a job offer requiring social security contributions for at least 12 months. This number is about 340,000 in 2021 higher than the official unemployment rate. In addition, the BA also reports monthly on so-called underemployment. As well as “unemployed broadly”, it also includes many other citizens who benefit from employment agency support (e.g. start-up grants, entry fees) or take sick leave. In addition to this “narrowly defined underemployment”, there is also the broadest sense of underemployment, which also includes short-time workers and semi-retired workers. This underemployment, as defined by the BA, is 754,000 more than the official unemployment figure in 2021.
The Federal Statistical Office has come up with a so-called hidden reserve of 899 billion people for 2019. In this definition, on the one hand, this includes everyone who is currently looking for a job but cannot start working on short notice. On the other hand, this figure also includes those who have not been looking for a job for a while, but basically can find a job and want to work. In addition, the statisticians calculated an underemployment figure, which is a completely different term from the one used by the Federal Employment Agency. At the Federal Statistical Office, this is about all those who are already working but would like to work more hours per week and have the opportunity to do so as well. In 2019 the number was 2.08 million.
Is everyone out of work? Unemployment benefits Got I or II?
No. Only about 42 percent of workable recipients of Unemployment Benefit II (which replaced Unemployment Assistance and Social Assistance in 2005) are also considered unemployed in 2021, according to the Federal Employment Agency. The rest did not formally enter the labor market or participate in support measures for various reasons. The other group is boosters. They work at least 15 hours a week and are therefore not considered unemployed. However, they also receive Unemployment Benefit II because their income is not enough to live on. People who receive Unemployment Benefit I are also not automatically considered unemployed. On average in 2021, this applies to around 185,000 people, for example, who are on temporary sick leave or are participating in certain support measures. In contrast, the official statistics for 2021 also include about 134,000 unemployed people not receiving unemployment benefits I or II.
what is seasonal adjustment pay?
The unemployment rate has a typical ups and downs throughout the year. Typically, rates increase in winter and decrease in summer. Sectors such as the construction industry are responsible for this. However, regular appointments such as school holidays also have an impact on unemployment. Statisticians calculate the average of these seasonal fluctuations. This effect is subtracted from the unemployment data, which varies from month to month. Results are seasonally adjusted figures. These are better suited to identifying real trends in the labor market based primarily on economic developments.
Does Germany cheat more people than other countries?
No. Every country defines unemployment differently, but Germany’s standard is relatively broad.
is german unemployment rate Internationally comparable?
No. International Labor Organization (ILO) standards are used for international comparisons. Their rules for calculating the national unemployment rate are very different from Germany’s requirements. For example, according to the International Labor Organization, unemployment ends when someone works at least one hour a week. The Federal Statistical Office calculates these figures in accordance with these rules with the help of random surveys. On the other hand, the Federal Employment Agency uses complete data on its companies. Germany’s official unemployment rate is generally higher than the ILO’s German unemployment rate. For 2021, the Federal Employment Agency’s official unemployment rate is 5.7%. According to the concept of the International Labor Organization, Germany’s unemployment rate in 2021 is only 3.3%.
which Labor Market Statistics is important?
In addition to the monthly labor market report of the Federal Employment Agency and the unemployment rate based on ILO standards, employment statistics are also interesting. It shows how many people are employed. The 2021 average calculated by the Federal Statistical Office is 44.9 million.
also show stats labor market policy work?
The success or failure of labor market reforms cannot be seen directly in monthly data. However, individual assessments for regions or specific groups will often show where labor market policies work and where they do not. This is especially true when performing statistical examinations of development over periods of months or years.
is up to date unemployment figures Compared with the previous one?
Without further ado. Trends can certainly be determined. However, due to repeated changes in the calculation rules of statistics, the current figures cannot be directly compared with the previous figures.
Are you sure how many job openings there are?
No. The Federal Employment Agency reports monthly the number of unsubsidized jobs reported to it in the primary labor market. But no employer is forced to report their vacancies to the Federal Employment Agency. So many jobs never show up in official statistics. The Internet portal of the Federal Employment Agency also searches the Internet for private job exchanges. However, it may also happen that an advertisement for the same job is repeated or that an advertisement for an already filled job has not been removed.
The BA’s Labor Market and Occupational Institute conducts quarterly representative surveys of employers, recording “overall vacancies”. However, the results of this study came after a considerable delay.