Citizen's Benefit Reform in Germany - An Opportunity for Women but also a potential burden for Public Finances
Citizen's Benefit Reform in Germany - An Opportunity for Women but also a potential burden for Public Finances

Summary/Abstract: The German labour market offers opportunities for the unemployed and jobseekers. Job vacancies are at a consistently high level, while unemployment is falling. The reform of the citizen's benefit is intended to create even better opportunities for integration into the labour market for citizen's benefit recipients. The author examines the impact of the reform of the citizen's benefit on the unemployment of women. Unemployment is studied via the analysis of the descriptive data by both gender and duration. The second aim of the research was to determine whether the costs of the citizen's benefit are negatively impacting public finances. The article also presents approaches to the equal participation of women in the labour market. Although no general risks were identified with respect to the impact on the public budget, cost issues were identified with respect to individual job centres due to the extra expenses incurred by the increase in the standard rate of the benefit and the focus on cost-intensive education, which require the relevant financing. The analysis and recommendations provide the basis for strategic decision-making by managers of job centres.

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