Germany short-time working benefits expenditure
Germany short-time working benefits expenditure stood at 83.35 EUR million in Jun 2026, according to Deutsche Bundesbank, Deutsche Rentenversicherung and Federal Ministry of Health (BMG). It is one of the indicators in the Social insurance funds table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from Jan 2000 to Jun 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Social insurance funds table
| Indicator | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | 11-2025 | 10-2025 | 09-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Employment Agency, expenditure, total | 4,571.5 | 4,563 | 4,916.8 | 5,162.12 | 4,845.78 | 4,718.52 | 4,351.4 | 4,755.81 | 4,395.17 | 4,082.69 | |
| Federal Employment Agency, expenditure, short-time working benefits | 83.35 | 95.19 | 186.13 | 300.4 | 231.25 | 88.9 | 105.88 | 82.35 | 89.85 | 90.83 | |
| Federal Employment Agency, expenditure, Job promotion, total | 939.57 | 930.96 | 886.06 | 937.39 | 875.87 | 876.19 | 935.63 | 910.62 | 832.34 | 770.48 |
Understanding germany short-time working benefits expenditure
Quantifies the funds transferred to employers to subsidize the wages of employees whose working hours have been temporarily reduced due to an unavoidable slump in business. The metric strictly isolates the cost of this specific job-retention tool from outright unemployment benefit payments. It covers the portion of net pay lost by the worker and, under certain crisis-driven legislative conditions, the full reimbursement of social security contributions to the employer, preventing immediate layoffs.
This series functions as an extreme macroeconomic shock absorber. It displays minimal activity during normal economic conditions but registers intense concentration during severe industrial downturns or external disruptions. Because its utilization is purely cyclical and event-driven, standard seasonal adjustment techniques are generally inapplicable and often misleading. Comparing the current period to the previous year is useful for measuring the decay of an economic shock, but the immediate short-term dynamic is best gauged by observing the month-on-month trajectory of the raw payout. High utilization in this row typically acts to suppress what would otherwise be corresponding pressure in the regular unemployment benefit series.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this money paid directly to the affected workers?
- The agency typically reimburses the employer, who has already advanced the reduced net wages to the employee.
- How does this measure interact with the main unemployment benefit?
- High expenditure here is designed to prevent layoffs, theoretically keeping regular unemployment benefit expenditures different than they would otherwise be.
- Are social security contributions included in this expenditure?
- During certain crises, the state mandates that this benefit also covers the employer's share of social security contributions for the cancelled hours, impacting the total cost.