Social report 2021/2022

The city of Offenbach has published a new social report. It contains current information and data from the years 2021 to 2022 and from the past ten years on unemployment, employment and, in particular, the situation in the social security systems according to the German Social Security Codes SGB II - Basic Security for Jobseekers and SGB XII - Social Assistance. Information is also provided on those entitled to benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, benefits for education and participation, poverty among children and young people and homelessness.

Martin Wilhelm, Head of Social Affairs, summarizes the results of the social report as follows: "The social report shows that despite the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Eastern Europe, the social situation in Offenbach has not deteriorated significantly overall in terms of the social security systems by the end of 2022 - as might have been feared two years ago. On the contrary, compared to 2020 and previous years, developments were comparatively positive. Despite the difficult economic situation and continued strong population growth, the number of people entitled to benefits under SGB II continued to fall. Offenbach also developed positively in comparison to other major cities in Hesse."

At the end of 2022 , 143,678 people lived in Offenbach as their main place of residence. This was almost 2.3 percent more than in December 2020. The proportion of non-Germans rose to 41.4 percent. An increase represents a growing challenge for the labor market, as non-Germans often have fewer opportunities there than the German working population.

Employment subject to social insurance contributions in Offenbach rose by 6.1% to 58,815 people between September 2020 and 2022, almost twice as much as in Hesse (3.3%). Unemployment fell in the same period. At the end of December 2022, 6,399 people were registered as unemployed, 17.9% fewer than in December 2020. The unemployment rate fell from 10.3% to 8.3%.

In the area of basic income support for jobseekers (SGB II), the number of benefit communities and their beneficiaries in Offenbach fell from December 2020 to 2022. At the end of 2022, there were 6,734 benefit communities with 14,085 beneficiaries. This was 5.9 percent fewer benefit communities or 8.0 percent fewer people entitled to benefits than in December 2020. The number of non-employable beneficiaries in benefit communities (usually children under the age of 15) fell by 463 to 4,241 people during this period.

In a state-wide comparison - here in the period December 2021-2022 - Offenbach was almost the only major city to show a decline in the number of benefit communities (minus 1.2 percent) and persons in benefit communities (minus 2.7 percent, see Figure 1).

In December 2022, the SGB II rate (proportion of all SGB II beneficiaries in the population up to the standard age limit) was 11.5% in Offenbach and therefore lower than at the end of the previous year (12.0%) and in December 2020 (12.7%). At 14.0%, the average SGB II rate among the non-German population was significantly higher than that of the German population (10.0%). At the level of the statistical districts, the spatially unequal distribution of SGB II benefits is evident: the three inner city districts Hochschule für Gestaltung, Wilhelmschule and Mathildenschule had far above-average rates of up to 16.1 percent. In contrast, the districts of Mühlheimer Strasse, Waldheim, Rumpenheim and Kaiserlei (including the harbor) remained well below the average with values as low as 4.5 percent.

The number of children and young people under the age of 18 in SGB II benefit communities, including those capable of working, fell compared to previous years to 5,142 in December 2022 (after 5,581 people in December 2020 and 5,338 people in December 2021). With a simultaneous growth of this age group in the population by 0.2% from December 2020 to 2021 and 2.0% from December 2021 to 2022, this had an increased effect on the SGB II rate of this age group (proportion of children under 18 in SGB II in the corresponding age group in the population): It fell from 22.5 percent in December 2020 to 20.4 percent in December 2022 (compare Figure 2).

"If, as was the case eight years ago, every third child no longer lives in a SGB II benefit community, but the proportion has fallen significantly to a fifth of all children, then this is a very good development," says Martin Wilhelm, Head of Social Affairs. "We still have child poverty in its various forms. But the burden has decreased noticeably in recent years and this motivates us to continue our efforts to reduce poverty," continued Wilhelm.

The proportion of people who received benefits from SGB II because their unemployment benefit I was not enough to cover their living expenses ("top-up recipients") fell to 200 people by December 2022 (after 494 people in December 2020). The proportion of people entitled to benefits under SGB II who are in gainful employment ("supplementers") fell to 2,285 people. This corresponded to 23.4% of all persons eligible for benefits who are capable of work.

In the area of Social Code XII, which, in addition to social assistance, primarily covers basic income support in old age and in the event of incapacity to work, the number of beneficiaries outside of institutions rose to 4,009 people (up 4.6%) in 3,622 benefit communities (up 4.3%) in December 2022 compared to the end of the previous year. The proportion of non-Germans among them also continued to rise, reaching 44.1% in December 2022.

Around 90% of people received basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity in accordance with Chapter 4 SGB XII. The increase in the number of people entitled to basic income support due to reduced earning capacity was 5.2% from December 2021 to 2022, which was higher than the increase in the number of people entitled to basic income support due to old age (plus 3.7%). In December 2021 (last comparative figure), the proportion of the population receiving basic income support was 2.5% in Offenbach, higher than in Hesse (1.6%).

The use of benefits for education and participation continued to fall in 2021 compared to previous years. This is due in particular to the falling number of beneficiaries and the consequences of the pandemic, which brought participation and gatherings to a virtual standstill. In the SGB II benefits area, around 7,600 people (including multiple counts) claimed one or more benefits in 2022.

In terms of housing and homelessness, the accommodation figures for most of the types of accommodation presented here decreased overall in 2022 compared to the two previous years. In the central placement of accommodation, through which most emergency overnight stays are arranged, the number of overnight stays arranged in 2022 fell by 5.9% to 181,408 compared to 2020. On a daily average, there were 469 beneficiaries from the areas of SGB II, SGB XII and the AsylbLG. Due to the pandemic, there were some significant restrictions on some accommodation services in the years 2020 to 2022. The number of overnight stays in the women's shelter in 2022 was the same as before the pandemic in 2019.