Employment promotion benefits (for example, job placement and unemployment benefits) and the other expenditures of the Federal Employment Office are financed through contributions by employees, employers and third parties (employment promotion contribution) as well as through allocations, federal funds and other income. Employers and employees each pay half of the employment promotion contribution.
At present the contribution rate is set at 3,0 percent of the contribution assessment basis. The contribution assessment basis is usually the employee's wage or salary (assessable income), up to a certain contribution assessment ceiling (as of 2012: old Länder 67,200 Euro per year / new Länder 57,600 Euro per year). Employers submit these contributions together with the contributions to health, long-term care and pension insurance as an overall social insurance contribution to the health insurance fund (collection office). The collection offices then forward the contributions designated for unemployment insurance to the Federal Employment Office.