Abstract

Taking into account the official labour force (employee and unemployed) this project estimates the labour force potential for the past which includes also the hidden unemployed. This hidden unemployed are not included in the official statistics. On the basis of activity rates from the German Microcensus potential-activity rates are estimated. The activity rates are disaggregated by demographic characteristics like gender or age. On the one hand it is possible to deduce structured data for the hidden unemployed, on the other hand these estimations of the potential labour force participation are the groundwork for the long-term projection of the labour force potential.
These results of the labour force potential and the hidden unemployed are part of the long-term balance of the labour market which is required to identify the imbalance on the labour market. Furthermore the labour force potential can give some informations on possible bottlenecks in consequence of the demographic changes. In a way frames are placed, concerning the employment of women or elderly.