A Danish expert group proposes comprehensive reforms of employment services. Job centers should be abolished in the Nordic country, and sanctions against job seekers should be drastically reduced.
A group of Danish experts presented this week far-reaching proposals for reforming the country’s employment system, such as: “Politics” reports. The plan includes eliminating all 98 job centers, cutting regulations in half and eliminating 90 percent of jobless sanctions. “Over time, more and more target groups, rules and special rules have been added,” explained expert group chairman Klaus Tustrup Kreiner from the University of Copenhagen.
Sea “Danish newspaper” Citizens with complex problems should fear less sanctions. It should only exist when “trust is broken”. A regulation primarily intended to benefit sick people and people “out of the labor market”. Sanctions against those who refuse to work remain in force. They are considered effective.
Economics professor Kreiner wants. “A high level of employment, preferably as cost-effective as possible, a high level of citizen satisfaction and a simple and transparent system.”
Radical proposals for the employment system in Denmark
In particular, many special rules should be removed. Avisen Danmark points out that this could reduce costs by three billion kroner (around €402 million) by 2030. In the future, job placement should take place in municipalities in a decentralized manner.
“Our conclusion is that we have built a centralized, micromanaged employment system where people are victimized,” Kreiner said. The government wants to study the proposals and present a proposal for negotiation in the parliament after the summer.
Traffic light government plans savings for job centers in Germany
In Germany, the traffic light government is already planning to make significant savings in the social sector for the 2025 federal budget. Again “Mercury” reports that 2.6 billion euros less will be available for job centers than in 2024.
These cuts cause strong reactions. The Federal Employment Agency (BA) and local associations such as the German Regional Association and the German Association of Cities urgently warn of the consequences in a press release.
BA emphasizes. “Sufficient financial resources are needed to continue to provide appropriate advice to all people receiving Citizens’ Allowance and to integrate them into work, and their social participation measures will also be affected.” significantly reduced.
Further training and rehabilitation costs should be reduced
According to Merkur, the government wants to save 900 million euros to fund further vocational training and rehabilitation services. The remaining €1.6 billion of cuts directly affect jobcentre budgets.
The German Social Association previously criticized the cuts in integration support as “cynical” and would lead to entrenchment of structural unemployment. However, Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) defended the planned cuts and emphasized that spending on unemployed people must be reduced.
It remains to be seen whether BA and other associations’ appeals will be heard by the federal government. The final decision on the budget has been postponed until July 17, Reuters reports.