Overview

• Union leaders renewed their push to lower welfare spending and instructed Jobcenters to prioritize placing Syrians and Afghans in employment, arguing these groups have significant untapped potential.
• CDU/CSU deputy Mathias Middelberg cited figures showing that 52.8 percent of Syrians and 46.7 percent of Afghans receive Bürgergeld, while only 36.7 percent and 37 percent respectively hold social‑insurance jobs.
• Government data report 2.6 million non‑Germans on Bürgergeld, equal to a 48 percent share, with Ukrainians (706,000), Syrians (512,000) and Afghans (201,000) the largest groups.
• The Paritätischer Gesamtverband warns that the 2025 draft trims Arbeitsförderung to 4.1 billion euros after 4.15 billion in 2024 and roughly 5 billion in 2020/21, jeopardizing long‑term labor‑market inclusion.
• Administration funding is below need at 5.25 billion euros versus more than 6.3 billion in 2023 actuals, prompting reallocation from integration budgets, and BA data show entries into activation measures fell to 515,000 last year from 610,000 in 2021.