German Federal Employment Agency

The Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit – BA) is the largest provider of labour market services in Germany. It has a network of more than 700 agencies and branch offices nationwide. Our most important tasks are job and training placement, career counselling and providing benefits replacing employment income such as unemployment benefit and insolvency payments. The Family Benefits Office (Familienkasse), which provides child benefit, is also part of the Federal Employment Agency. In doing so, we focus on those topics that are important for customers from abroad.

Additionally, there are special agencies:

• Institute for Employment Research (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung – IAB) in Nuremberg
• International Placement Service (Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung – ZAV) in Bonn
• Staff College of the Federal Employment Agency (Führungsakademie der Bundesagentur für Arbeit – FBA)
• University of the Federal Employment Agency (BA) – University of Labour Market Management
• IT System House (IT-Systemhaus) – Information Technology of the BA
• BA Service House (BA-ServiceHaus) – Service Provider of the BA
• Family Benefits Office (Familienkasse)

At an intermediate level, the BA’s Regional Directorates are responsible for the success of regional labour market policies. To coordinate their duties with labour market, structural and economic policies of the Länder, they work closely with the Länder governments. The Regional Directorates are headed by an Executive Board. It consists of the chairwoman or chairman and two members for the divisions operative and internal service. The Regional Directorates control the Employment Agencies.

At a local level, the Employment Agencies are responsible for the implementation of the duties of the BA. Like the Regional Directorates they are controlled by an Executive Board consisting of the chairwoman or chairman and two other members.

Institutions of self-government of the BA are the board of governors and the administration committees at the Employment Agencies. They supervise the work of the Executive Board respectively the management of the local Employment Agencies and advise them on questions concerning the labour market.