Background

The IAB in April 1967: set up without a statutory basis, a department of the Federal Employment Service (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit) as its contribution to the discussions on automation. The IAB in 2009: an independent institute of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit), a creative place despite the requirements of two simultaneous statutory mandates. Its wide spectrum of topics and publications benefit from freedom of research while its services are ahead of their times in many ways.

What we have today has developed gradually over the last four decades and a brief glance back will let us understand the present better. For, fortunately, the many different issues dealt with and the many different people involved have left their mark. This long path will be described here only briefly (IAB's history).

The mandate

The requirements laid down in the mandate keep us slim, protecting us from taking on unnecessary ballast. Between 1969 and 1998 the Employment Promotion Act (Arbeitsförderungsgesetz, AFG) regulated IAB's statutory mission. When the AFG was incorporated into the third book of the Social Code (SGB III), Sections 280 and 282 became binding for us. Only recently has this mandate been extended: along with SGB III, the work of the IAB is now also determined by Section 55 of SGB II. Today, therefore, we do not only assess the manifold effects of instruments aimed at promoting employment but also the effects of the basic income support scheme for job-seekers (Grundsicherung für Arbeitsuchende). It is this dual task that makes the work at IAB especially interesting.

Structure

First the mandate, then the structure. IAB's organizational chart provides an overview that will allow you to become familiar with all sections of our Institute, including staff. Here you can find a description of what the various Research Departments do, along with information on individual projects.