Abstract

This project studies employment entries among mothers receiving Unemployment Benefit II (UB II) on a monthly basis up until the youngest child is aged four, differentiating between entries into unsubsidized contributory employment and Minijobs. Factors influencing employment entry rates are likely to include more intensive activation for mothers of children aged over three, kindergarten entry around age three, as well as the three-year maximum duration of parental leave. To address this last factor, separate analyses will be run for mothers who were employed before the birth of their child and those who were not. Separate analyses will also be run for eastern and western Germany to account for differences in the childcare infrastructure. Altogether, the analyses are intended to provide a more detailed picture of employment entry patterns among mothers of young children receiving UB II. This can contribute to understanding which groups of mothers require additional support to improve their employment chances. The analyses can also shed light on the question of whether the more intensive activation after age three of the youngest child actually does fall into a phase of higher employment entry rates for all groups of mothers.