Research in this field centres on the structures of, and trends in, employment and job vacancies at companies, with a particular emphasis on the analysis of demand for skilled and unskilled workers. The spotlight here is very much on job-specific and qualification-specific aspects, while contractual structures such as fixed-term contracts, companies’ commitment to recruitment, training and professional development, industrial relations, innovation and productivity also have a role to play. The IAB shines a light on the quality of employment too, with particular attention paid to the work demands associated with the various occupations and forms of employment, the associated pay, job security and job satisfaction, and how individuals subjectively perceive the quality of their employment.
Key contextual factors in the analysis include globalisation and technological and environmental change, as well as institutional considerations such as minimum wages and the right to collective bargaining and codetermination. This focus area also conducts the research – such as the IAB Establishment Panel (IAB-Betriebspanel) and the IAB job vacancy survey (IAB-Stellenerhebung) – that generates the data needed to provide answers to these questions. By conducting additional surveys of people (e.g. as part of the Linked Personnel Panel) and linking company data with administrative data on individuals, for example employment statistics for people with disabilities (BsbM) in connection with integrated employment biographies (IEB), both the employers’ and the employees’ perspectives can be taken into account. This research is supported by surveys among newly founded companies and polls on topics that are currently relevant to the labour market. Possible improvements to the IAB’s surveys of companies, particularly in terms of leveraging synergies, are currently being carefully examined as part of a data laboratory project.
The fields that the focus area will investigate in 2025 include the effects at company level of introducing robots and the consequences for employees’ wages and jobs. The company factors that influence the employment of refugees will be another key aspect of the focus area’s work. In addition, the economic costs of mass redundancies for employees and the benefits of interim employment companies will be examined. The consequences of the onset of a disability on an individual’s future working life will be studied on the basis of characteristics such as wage levels and length of service. Also on the agenda are codetermination and binding collective pay agreements. Finally, the focus area will step up its research into the trainee/apprenticeship market in 2025, concentrating not only on the company-related factors that are leading to falling trainee and apprenticeship rates but also on the opportunities that arise for candidates applying for such positions who leave school without any qualifications.
Activities
Departments
- Research Department Active Labour Market Policies and Integration
- Research Department Labour Market Processes and Institutions
- Research Group Occupations in the Transformation
- Research Department Establishments and Employment
- Research Data Centre
- Statistical Methods
- Working Group Occupations
- Working Group Minimum Wage
- Working Group Quality of Employment
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