German Labor Minister Walter Reister has scheduled an emergency meeting today, at which the head of the Federal Labor Office will be called upon to defend his agency against allegations that it has overstated its job placement success rates. Long accused of being inefficient and overstaffed, the 90,000 employee, $44 billion a year office has taken much of the blame for the almost 4 million Germans currently unemployed. The latest charges against the beleaguered agency stem from a report by the federal audit office that has been corroborated by independent information brought to light by an agency whistleblower, and could provide the impetus for massive overhauls of the agency.
See HAIG SIMONIAN, Financial Times, February 14, 2002