In ‘labour societies’, paid work is key to social inclusion, and unemployment, underemployment, low wages and limited participation in working life are the risks commonly associated with this. They present major challenges for those affected and may act in conjunction with other individual and societal risks to create critical points or times in a person’s life, unequal opportunities and social exclusion. As a result, the risks around participation in the labour force are a key driver of economic and social inequality, and thus have the potential to create poverty and threaten social cohesion. This calls for welfare-state intervention guided by science and research.
In this focus area, the IAB shines a light on characteristics and processes at the individual, household and institutional level that are particularly relevant to inequality. The causal connections between these characteristics are also of interest here.
The transition from school to vocational training or employment can represent a particular obstacle for recipients of citizen’s benefit. And if this transition fails, they may face long-term disadvantages during their working life. Research into the situation of young people covered by the scope of SGB II is integral to this focus area, as are analyses of how education and training influence the risks around labour force participation and poverty. A closer look is also taken at the advisory and placement services provided by job centres and at the practical implementation, effectiveness and efficiency of socio-political interventions. In this context, the focus area is examining the impact of these on lives, social stratification, labour force participation and economic, social and cultural inclusion.
In 2025, the IAB’s research in this focus area will continue to centre on evaluating the German Citizen’s Benefit Act. The analyses will concentrate on the job centres’ implementation of the new legal provisions, for example with regard to the grace period, the cooperation plan and coaching under section 16k SGB II. Another key topic will be the new rules on benefit cuts and their impact on the participation in the labour force of people entitled to benefits. Also in focus will be analyses of vocational rehabilitation for disabled people and for people at risk of disability. In addition, the IAB will look at the advice and support provided by case workers to unemployed people who have great difficulty in entering the labour market, at participation in the labour force of older people who are entitled to citizen’s benefit and at the employment prospects of people who have a mental illness, especially those with a refugee background.
Activities
- Publications on the topic: Labour Force Participation, Poverty, and Social Policy
- Projects on the topic: Labour Force Participation, Poverty, and Social Policy
Departments
- Staff Unit Research Coordination
- Research Department Joblessness and Social Inclusion
- Research Department Basic Income Support and Activation
- Research Group Basic Income Support and the Labour Market
- Research Department Panel Study Labour Market and Social Security
- Regional Research Network
- Working Group Gender Studies
- Working Group Quality of Employment
- Working Group Social protection in changing times
