Overview
- The district of Nordhausen began a three‑month pilot obliging under‑25 Bürgergeld recipients without completed training to perform up to 40 hours weekly in workshops, the municipal yard or green maintenance for €1.20 per hour.
- Uptake was weak at the start: about 30 of 60 invited high‑priority cases attended an initial briefing and only eight started work, with authorities conducting home visits and the county preparing 10 percent cuts for refusals.
- Nationally, the Bürgergeld is being converted into a new basic security with major changes from 2026, including the end of the asset grace period and lower, age‑tiered exempt assets.
- Polling reported by dpa/YouGov shows broad backing for tougher sanctions, while researchers and economists caution that strict penalties risk harming vulnerable claimants and will yield modest fiscal gains.
- Essen’s mayor Thomas Kufen criticizes the reform as increasing bureaucracy for job centers and argues for greater case‑level discretion and better data systems, as reporting on low‑wage ‘top‑ups’ highlights weak financial incentives to move from part‑time to full‑time work.