employment office
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employment office
A government agency responsible for job placement and the administration of unemployment benefits. The official term today is usually 'Agentur für Arbeit' (Federal Employment Agency) or 'Jobcenter', but the term 'Arbeitsamt' (employment office) is still very common in everyday speech.
Nach seiner Kündigung musste er sich beim Arbeitsamt melden.
After he was laid off, he had to register with the employment office.
The word is made up of 'Arbeit' (work) and 'Amt' (authority, office). The '-s-' is a linking sound that connects the two parts. So it is literally the 'office for work'.
Das Arbeitsamt hilft Menschen bei der Suche nach einer neuen Stelle.
The employment office helps people look for a new job.
'Arbeitsamt' (employment office) is the traditional term and is very commonly used in everyday speech. In official documents or formal language, the agency is usually called something else today.
Umgangssprachlich gehen die Leute immer noch zum Arbeitsamt, auch wenn es offiziell „Agentur für Arbeit“ heißt.
In everyday speech, people still go to the employment office, even if it is officially called 'Agentur für Arbeit' (Federal Employment Agency).
To express movement there, you use 'zum Arbeitsamt gehen' (to go to the employment office). To describe a place or status, you use 'beim Arbeitsamt gemeldet sein' (to be registered with the employment office).
Er muss morgen früh zum Arbeitsamt.
He has to go to the employment office tomorrow morning.
job center
'das Jobcenter' and 'das Arbeitsamt' are often used in everyday language for similar offices because both are connected with unemployment, job searching, and financial benefits. The important difference is: 'Jobcenter' is a current official term for a specific office, especially for Bürgergeld or, formerly, Arbeitslosengeld II. 'Arbeitsamt' is an older and colloquial term. Many people still say 'Arbeitsamt', but depending on the situation they may mean the Agentur für Arbeit or the Jobcenter. That is why the word can be imprecise. If you want to speak officially and more precisely, 'Jobcenter' is better when you mean this specific office.
Meine Tante sagt noch Arbeitsamt, obwohl die Stelle heute anders heißt.
My aunt still says Arbeitsamt, even though the office has a different name today.
Wegen des Antrags muss Lisa diese Woche zum Jobcenter gehen.
Because of the application, Lisa has to go to the job center this week.