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Federal Labour Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, or Arbeitsagentur, or Arbeitsamt)

Definition, Explanation

Tips, Checklist

Definition, Explanation

The Federal Labour Agency is the executive authority of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales) and is responsible for labour administration. Its tasks are mainly legally based on the Sozialgesetzbuch Zweites Buch (SGB II) – basic security for jobseekers – and Drittes Buch (SGB III) – benefits in labour promotion.

The Federal Labour Agency with its local offices (Arbeitsagentur, formerly Arbeitsamt) renders services around the job market and apprenticeship market. This includes:

• Services of placement in apprenticeship- and job-market
• Occupational counselling in occupation information centers
• Employer counselling
• Promotion of apprenticeships and of occupational further education
• Promotion of occupational participation of disabled
• Benefits supporting job preservation and job creation
• Remuneration-substitute benefits as unemployment benefit, short workers’ money or insolvency money
• Active labour promotion
• Research in job market and occupational research
• Supervision of the job market and rendering of job market statistics
• Other:
  • Payment of child benefit
  • Granting of employment permits
  • Securing of equal treatment of men and women
  • Executing of the Temporary Employment Act

These tasks are fulfilled by the central labour agency in Nürnberg, the regional headquarters (mostly by Federal state), the local labour agencies and the offices. Concerns of receivers of employment benefit II are handled by the labour agencies in collaboration with the communal ARGEs and jobcentres.

The Federal Labour Agency and its institutions are financed by social insurance contributions and additionally by tax revenue, mostly VAT.

Tips, Checklist

• Services of the Federal Labour Agency are free to be used by every jobseeker, apprenticeship seeker or employer. However there are restrictions concerning the granting of financial support, e.g. not everybody is entitled to be granted a Vermittlungsgutschein (placement coupon)
• Use the offers of being counselled. Use the different websites of the labour agency, as well as the personal counselling talk, to ask your questions
• For jobseeking, the labour agency is one place to turn to. Also use private employment placement agencies, job advertisements, websites, job platforms, and do not forget to include your own contacts built by networking

Last update: 01/09/2010