abolish citizen's income
Through effective labor market integration
In order to train future skilled workers and enable both economic growth and equal opportunities in Germany, central reforms in the area of labor market integration for young people are essential. The best way for young people to get off the citizen’s allowance is to start an apprenticeship. Nationwide, around 770,000 young people under the age of 25 receive citizen’s income*.
In the coming legislative period, the decisive course must therefore be set for the successful integration of young people into the labor market, focusing on three areas: (1) the quality of transition measures, (2) the management and structure of the transition sector and (3) the interfaces with the adjacent areas of school and training.
Find out more about our demands in our impulse paper. Download it now, share it in your network and discuss it with your MPs.
what do the figures say?
People under 35 years of age without completed training**
young people under the age of 25 are in receipt of citizen’s allowance
of young people are stuck in the transition system*** for 3 years
unfilled training places****
Applicants cannot find a training place
In addition to the many hurdles that young people have to overcome when entering the labor market, inefficient support structures make their path more difficult.
But instead of real reforms, we have mainly seen stigmatization and generalizations of recipients of citizens’ income and young people in the past year.
Our campaign shows the real faces behind the “citizens’ allowance recipients”. We want to show that behind every person there are individual life circumstances that often present complex challenges and require tailor-made solutions. Our campaign stories illustrate the hurdles that young people without training face when making the transition to a vocational qualification and the areas in which urgent action is needed.
what do the young people say?
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More InformationSince 2008, we have been helping young people to enter training – many of them from those receiving the citizen’s allowance. With a placement rate of up to 80% in the primary labor market, we have supported over 16,000 young people nationwide. We work closely with partners from business, civil society and the public sector to provide young people with the best possible network and bundled expertise on their path.
Nationwide in the 2022/2023 training year
In the 2022 reporting period, measured 6 months after the start of training.
Think back to your own entry into the professional world. Would you have managed this without the trust placed in you? Did you have to overcome prejudices? Were you the first person in your family to start an apprenticeship? Have you had to live through experiences of flight from your home country?
Effective support starts with taking young people seriously, strengthening their potential and giving them a sense of achievement on their way into the job market.
You can find more detailed information about our work and the JOBLINGE program here.
away with the false prejudices!
Help us to change the narrative about young people on citizen’s income and support them in getting into work. Only through the joint commitment of business, civil society and the public sector can we abolish the Citizen’s Income for young people – with an effective alternative: by enabling them to get into training and thus into a self-determined future.
let's get into an exchange
Georgina Heyland
Umbrella organization
Team Lead
Brand & Fundraising
Georgina.Heyland@joblinge.de
impressions from the shooting
citizen's income explained
What is the aim of the Citizen's Income?
The Citizen’s Income is intended to secure a livelihood and provide financial support for people who are unable to earn their own living. It also aims to support people who are unemployed or disabled on their way back into the labor market. It not only offers financial security, but also aims to improve the employability of recipients and promote long-term career prospects and social participation through accompanying measures such as training, further education and individual advice.
Who is behind the Citizen's Income?
In principle, a distinction is made in the citizen’s allowance between those entitled to benefits who are capable of work (ELB) and those who are not capable of work (NEF). NEFs are people who have either not yet reached working age (under 15 years of age) or are unable to work at least three hours a day under normal labor market conditions for health reasons. This group currently comprises around 1.5 million people – in most cases children.
Of the remaining 3.9 million citizens’ allowance recipients who are capable of working, around 2.2 million are “not available to the labor market”. These people are attending school, studying, caring for relatives or looking after young children, for example. Citizen’s allowance can also be drawn during parental leave if the parental allowance is not sufficient. Others take part in support measures or have a job whose income is not enough to live on. This is because unemployment is not a mandatory requirement for receiving basic benefits for jobseekers. Rather, people’s neediness is the main factor.
This results in a residual figure of 1.8 million so-called unemployed employable citizens’ allowance recipients who are theoretically available to the labor market. However, in 2023, almost every second unemployed person eligible for benefits had at least two placement-inhibiting characteristics (e.g. long-term unemployment, low qualifications).
The approximately 770,000 people under the age of 25 are also divided between these two categories. Around 80% of young people are not considered unemployed, as they largely either participate in labor market policy measures (approx. 14%) or receive grants for school, university or training (approx. 65%). Of the remaining young people under the age of 25 who are considered unemployed, over a third have left school without any qualifications, which impressively underlines how challenging it is for this group to enter the labor market. A small but very significant proportion of young people also belong to the group of so-called NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), i.e. young people who are neither in education nor employment and are considered difficult to reach
Who are the NEETs?
Our study “Youth on standby”, published in 2023, provides valuable insights into the lives of young people without formal vocational training. The aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of this important group in the challenging labor market situation and to contribute the results to a broad social discourse. Read more here.
* Statistics of the Federal Employment Agency Reports: Focus on the labor market – monthly report on the labor and training market, Nuremberg, September 2024
** Vocational training report 2024
*** The term “transition system” covers measures, educational offers and programs that do not lead to a vocational qualification but are aimed at improving participants’ chances of taking up dual or school-based vocational training (IAB-Forum, n.d.).
**** Cf. Federal Agency, Shortage of jobs and skilled workers despite unemployment, March 2024