Less unemployment, but more and more tasks: The number of employees at the Federal Employment Agency (BA) has risen to 113,000 in recent years (as of December 2022), although unemployment has halved since 2005. There are more and more orders from the legislature to the federal agency, said a spokeswoman for the authority. Compared to 94,000 employees in 2005, the increase of a good 20 percent also resulted when part-time employment was included. The “Welt am Sonntag” had previously reported.
“The constantly new legislative requirements are pushing the BA to its breaking point. The employees are receiving more and more tasks from an ambitious Federal Ministry of Labour,” said Christina Ramb, Chair of the Board of Directors, to the newspaper. The implementation of new laws, from basic income to the education period to the immigration of skilled workers, including IT requirements and changed instructions tie up a lot of staff, she explained. In addition, the advice and support for the unemployed and employees is now on average more complex than at the time of mass unemployment.
Union faction Vice Carsten Linnemann criticized the job creation. “It is unacceptable that, despite the sharp drop in unemployment and the potential for increasing efficiency through digitization, the federal agency still needs more employees,” he told the “Welt am Sonntag”. The Left Party social politician Jessica Tatti, on the other hand, considers the increase in staff to be appropriate: “Compared to 2005, the employment agencies now have significantly more advisory tasks, for example preventive further training advice for employees.”
