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Thursday, October 01, 2020
By Sebastian Huld
In the Corona year, the employment agency has to process 14 times more applications for a limited time grant than in the crisis year 2009. Additional training, counseling and placement are only being carried out on a limited basis, to the detriment of hundreds of thousands of newly unemployed.
While the number of unemployed in Germany has risen significantly as a result of the corona pandemic, the Federal Employment Agency has recently significantly limited its support for job search through more training and grants. According to the monthly report released on Wednesday, the number of unemployed in September was 2,847,000, about 27 percent more than in September 2019. Meanwhile, the number of participants in a labor market policy measure fell 18 percent to 360,000 compared to the same month last year. When asked by ntv.de, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) admitted that funding for additional training, start-up grants or other labor market services had “significantly” decreased.
After deducting help with career choice and training, the number of participants in the measures was 10 percent less than the previous year, according to the September monthly report. According to the agency, job placement has also been done “only with restrictions” since the beginning of the pandemic. In addition, the number of start-up grants awarded fell by 17 percent to 20,000 cases in a 12-month comparison. In the early months of the pandemic, counseling sessions were conducted almost exclusively by phone and are now also possible in person on a limited basis. Anyone who has been unemployed in recent months hardly had to wait for mail from the employment agency or appointments at the employment center.
“Significant redistribution”
The BA blames agency job opportunities and supportive care providers, which are restricted by health protection, for significant cuts in job placement and continuing education. Additionally, there is an “unprecedented flood of short-term job applications.” The federal government had facilitated access to benefits for part-time work at the beginning of the pandemic, and subsequently increased the amount paid and the reference period to avoid mass unemployment.
The number of applications to be processed posed enormous challenges for the Federal Employment Agency: “For example, the number of applications for short-term subsidies increased 53 times compared to the previous year and 14 times compared to the crisis year 2009.” explained the Federal Agency when asked. The work could only be managed through a “significant redeployment of staff”, which is why there was a lack of employment agencies elsewhere. “As a result, due to the pandemic, in recent months many clients could not be counseled in the intensity and the time that we wanted,” explained the BA.
A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs said that the timely payment of short-time work benefits, unemployment benefits and bankruptcy money was only possible through “enormous efforts” at the employment agency. “Meanwhile, counseling, placement and promotion of training and job seekers has become more important,” said the ministry spokesman. According to the Federal Employment Agency, “the number of people entering the measures is again increasing significantly.”
The opposition demands more support
When asked by ntv.de, the labor market policy spokesperson for the parliamentary groups of the FDP, the Greens and the Left showed understanding for the extraordinary burden on the employment agency, but warned the federal government to commit more so that the unemployed can quickly find a new job. “It is extremely counterproductive in the economic crisis that active job promotion is reduced. It is crucial to make it easier for those who are now losing their jobs to return to the labor market,” said left-wing MP Sabine Zimmermann.
Johannes Vogel of the FDP said in view of the additional burden on the employment agency: “The general extension until the end of 2021 is therefore incorrect.” The range of services and advice of the Federal Employment Agency is being unilaterally reduced at the expense of job seekers. “This is where the Union and the SPD fail,” Vogel explained. Instead, he called for incentives for companies to hire and invest workers, including through a temporary assumption of social security contributions.
Beate Müller-Gemmecke from the Greens explained: “In the current difficult situation on the labor market, support and offers are more important than ever.” Health protection and the burden of short-term work subsidy applications may “no longer be a reason to continue to keep support for the unemployed at a low level.”
1000 new jobs for BA
According to Zimmermann, the crisis “only significantly exacerbated existing problems.” According to the member of the Bundestag, there is a lack of permanent staff for job placement. “Fluctuating workload is the nature of unemployment insurance, so it requires sufficient staff reserves.” Until 2019, however, the staff had been reduced. “The rate of child care has also deteriorated,” explained the left-wing politician. According to the Federal Ministry of Labor, the BA recently decided to hire 1,000 more workers. Last year, the employment agency employed 95,000 people.
Müller-Gemmeke increasingly asked for digital offers for people who have difficulty communicating by email and by phone only. The BA informed ntv.de that video telephony advice is currently being tested in 19 regions. This option should “be extended to selected employment centers” this year.
Another critical point is the survival of the providers of additional training and support measures, which for health protection reasons were no longer able to keep their offers in closed rooms. According to the Federal Ministry of Labor, the Law on Employment of Social Service Providers “has already contributed to ensuring the continued existence of these service providers.” Educational institutions can apply for grants through law. Müller-Gemmecke called for more efforts to financially secure carriers during the pandemic period. She argued: “Once the structures have collapsed, it becomes difficult to rebuild them.”
