Job Market Monitor for the New States

Eight-wave panel survey on the development of the job market situation
in the five new states. Description of the job situation at work and
the job market in the region.

Topics: in all waves the following questions were posed: judgement on
one´s own financial situation; current search for work; area of search
for work in kilometers; registered with the employment office as
unemployed or looking for work; time of leaving company and reason for
this; employment status; length of employment in current position;
personal position within the company; branch of business of company;
belonging to the civil service; company size; employment in Western
Germany or West Berlin; participation in occupation qualification
measures; support by the employment office during the measure; amount
of personal income during the month; year of birth; survey date.

In at least one further survey the following additional questions were
posed: current situation in life; assessment of the change of economic
situation compared to previous year; general economic situation of the
area. Experiences with unemployment: registration with employment
office; one-time or multiple unemployment; length of unemployment;
receipt of payments from the employment office; experiences with the
employment office.

Search for work: search for permanent position or short-term
employment; willingness to accept a temporary position; search for
full-time or part-time position; evaluation of chances for a job;
search for work relevant to one´s job.

Training wishes: desire for vocational training or college; training
sought; prospects for a training vacancy or training position; reason
for dissolution of a training contract; involving the employment office
in the search for a training vacancy; job offers from the employment
office; prospect of start of studies; alternative to planned training;
interest in a job in Western Germany; preferred training area.

Job creation measures: arranging a job creation measure by the
employment office; point in time of this; employment in a job creation
measure at time of survey; prematurely leaving the job creation
measure; end of job creation measure; employment at the conclusion;
personal effort for a regular job during job creation measure;
information from the employment office about employment outside of a
job creation measure.

Occupation and family: living together with partner; employment status
of partner; extent of employment of partner; preferred opportunity to
earn money.

Child care: children under 16 years in household; year of birth of
youngest child; care of children during the day; possibility of
employment even without day-nursery, kindergarten or nursery;
opportunity of all-day child care in residential area.

The situation in the last 6 months: leaving a company and reason for
this.

Situation at time of survey: desire for new employment; reasons for
not returning to working life.

Employment activity at time of survey: employment in the same company
as six months earlier; measure to preserve employment; temporary
employment; correspondence of occupational activity and occupation
learned; training necessary for current activity; evaluation of
technical equipment of company; use of computer-controlled equipment or
facilities; having a position of leadership; short time work in the
company and personal impact; supplementing short time work support of
the employment office by the company; extent of employment (full-time
or part-time position); working hours per week; preferred number of
hours each week; actual time worked each week; reasons for overtime or
short time work; personal impact of the so-called holding pattern;
distance to place of work; having a side job; type of side job; extent
of side job; length of employment in the last year in months.

Occupational changes: change of occupation in the last year; change of
job risk, physical burden, stress and hectic since last year; work
income; change of place of work; working on new machines or facilities;
producing another product; demands for new knowledge; reduction in or
loss of work; satisfaction with job earnings, with the opportunity to
apply one´s own occupational knowledge and skills, with the prospects
of advancement, with the cooperation with colleagues, with the working
hours, with the route to work, with the relationship with superiors,
work satisfaction (scale); assessment of the pace at work in the
company.

The company: production program of the company; lay-offs within the
company; expected change of number of employees in the next 12 months;
existence of the company a year ago; administration of the company by
the trust-company; working in an employment company or renovation
company; reason for employment in the west; desired duration of work in
the west; affiliation of the company with a larger enterprise; persons
from the west in the employment company; place of residence and
registered main place of residence; manner of termination of terms of
employment in the west; reason for termination of employment in the
west.

The foreseeable future: planned or expected changes of occupational
situation.

Occupational qualification: qualification measure at time of survey;
effort in hours per week; goal of qualification; length of the measure;
change of occupational situation through occupational further
education; interest in courses on occupational qualification; goals of
the measure; adequate extent to which informed about qualification
measures.

Financial situation: percentage contribution to household income;
number of persons in household; number of persons between 16 and 65
years in household; number of employed, unemployment figures or number
of pensioners in household; persons in household with their own income;
amount of monthly net household income; production oneself at home.

Health: self-assessment of condition of health.

Expectations: expected economic situation of the region in one year;
personal occupational future (scale).

Information on person: highest school degree; vocational degree.