Billion cushion used up
The Federal Employment Agency wants to create reserves again
11/11/2022 4:42 p.m
With reserves of more than 26 billion euros, the Federal Employment Agency is cushioning the upheavals in the corona pandemic. Thanks to the stable job market, the authority will be able to do without subsidies again in the coming year – and wants to build up a new cushion with the expected surpluses.
After three high-deficit years, the Federal Employment Agency will present a balanced budget for the next year. The budget of the Nuremberg authority with 105,000 employees will include revenues of 42.6 billion euros, said CEO Andrea Nahles. This is offset by expenditure of 40.6 billion euros. A federal loan of around 800 million euros, which was granted to balance the 2022 budget, is to be repaid from the surplus.
According to the information, the Federal Agency also wants to start building up a reserve again. The cushion of around 26 billion euros had melted to zero in the corona pandemic. According to experts, the federal agency needs a reserve of around 25 billion euros as an effective reserve for emergency situations. Rebuilding this will take years, said Nahles.
The basis for the budget planning was the autumn forecast of the federal government. In its planning, the Federal Agency assumes a slight increase in unemployment to 2.5 million next year and an annual average of 200,000 short-time workers – still well above the level before the corona pandemic. Despite economic problems, the labor market has proven to be robust. “We can also assume that for next year,” said Nahles.
The income will be significantly higher next year than in 2022. The reason for this is, on the one hand, the return to the statutory contribution rate of 2.6 percent – the contribution was temporarily reduced to 2.4 percent in 2019 and will return to the old level in early 2023. On the other hand, the employment situation is very good – which flushes high income from contributions into the coffers of the BA.
Too many special editions from the federal government
When it comes to spending, the Nuremberg authority wants to focus on further education in addition to digitization. “We want to make every meaningful and eligible further training possible,” emphasized the former SPD leader and federal minister. The federal agency will use around eight billion euros for active employment promotion in the current year. 9.6 billion euros are planned for 2023. “We all have to know that we have a shortage of skilled workers in front of our chests,” said Christina Ramb, head of the board of directors.
The Federal Agency is planning 900 million euros for insolvency money next year – this means no increase compared to the estimate in the current year. In the years 2021 and 2022, significantly less money was actually needed to cushion company bankruptcies.
Together with her co-chair Anja Piel, she criticized the federal government for using the agency too much for administrative processes beyond its actual tasks. It cannot be that the BA becomes the “Federal Agency for Administration of the Federal Government,” said Ramb, with a view to the tasks of the Nuremberg authority, for example in the payment of relief in the energy crisis.