Politics · Germany · 2 hrs ago
About 1.4 million people in Germany have received basic support for five years
About 1.4 million people in Germany received basic income support for at least five years, roughly two in five recipients.
Of this group, 37.8% were not German citizens.
The highest shares of long-term recipients were in Berlin and Bremen at the end of 2025.
The number of long-term unemployed people has risen again since 2024, after falling for years.
The AfD wants people able to work who have received support for more than six months to do 15 hours of community work each week, with penalties for refusing.
Other lawmakers have criticized that proposal, while Germany's recent reform has already introduced stricter rules and benefit cuts for people who do not cooperate.
About 1.4 million people in Germany had received basic support for at least five years, according to new data from the Federal Employment Agency.
They made up about two in five people receiving the support.
At the end of 2025, Berlin had the highest share of these long-term recipients, at about 45 percent, followed by Bremen at 43 percent.
The AfD called for 15 hours of compulsory community work each week for people able to work who receive support for more than six months.
A CSU politician countered that people in need should receive help.
- Who
- About 1.4 million people in Germany who had received basic support for at least five years.
- What
- New data showed the scale of long-term receipt of basic support. The AfD renewed its call for compulsory community work for some recipients.
- When
- The data described people who had received support for at least five years; the regional shares were measured at the end of 2025.
- Where
- Germany, with the highest regional shares in Berlin and Bremen.
- Why
- The article says a weak economic period contributed to rising unemployment and, since 2024, rising long-term unemployment.
AfD
CSU social-policy position
Compulsory community work
AfD
The AfD wants people able to work who receive basic support for more than six months to do 15 hours of community work each week.
CSU social-policy position
CSU politician Peter Aumer said the social system’s promise is that people who need help must receive help.
Consequences for refusal
AfD
The AfD says those who refuse should receive only benefits in kind or, as a last option, no benefits.
CSU social-policy position
Aumer’s response emphasized providing help to people in need.
It cannot be that so many people receive Bürgergeld at taxpayers’ expense even though they could work.
The fundamental promise of our social system
frequently face barriers to employment such as low formal qualifications or health limitations
tailored and individualized
Long-term unemployment stood at 1.8 million, according to the Institute for Employment Research.
Long-term unemployment had fallen to 700,000.
Unemployment in Germany rose again amid a period of economic weakness.
The number of long-term unemployed people also began to rise.
Berlin had the highest share of long-term basic-support recipients, at about 45 percent, followed by Bremen at 43 percent.
There were 3.7 million people able to work receiving basic support, 145,000 fewer than in the same month a year earlier.
- Long-term recipients
- About 1.4 million people had received basic support for at least five years
- Share of recipients
- About two in five
- Nationalities
- 62.2 percent German; 37.8 percent foreign
- Under-25 recipients
- 199,229 people
- Highest regional shares
- Berlin: about 45 percent; Bremen: 43 percent
- Basic-support recipients able to work
- 3.7 million in September
Sources
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