Job market - Rhine Region: Citizens' Income Leads to a Rise in Demand for Skilled Workers' personnel
As the number of people receiving social welfare increases, Hesse's Prime Minister, Boris Rhein (CDU), has cautioned about the potential repercussions on the labor market. He spoke to the German Press Agency in Wiesbaden and emphasized that "Social welfare is a key factor contributing to the skilled labor shortage and the labor market crisis plaguing our economy." Rhein advocates for promoting employment rather than rewarding unemployment.
"Germany needs to reintroduce a positive performance culture," he added. "We should appreciate work performance, life performance, entrepreneurial performance, and even integration performance." According to Rhein, an excessive reliance on social welfare threatens to turn the country into a disincentive for hard-working individuals who contribute to society daily.
In May, there were approximately 4.021 million employable social welfare recipients, an 82,000 increase from May 2023 prior to the reform, as reported by the Federal Employment Agency. The social welfare system replaced Hartz IV in January 2023, designed to foster permanent job placements rather than temporary helper positions.
