Rhineland-Palatinate is investing heavily in new staff and wants to increase the number of jobs in the state. The bottom line is that the total number of jobs is expected to increase by around 1,500 next year and by another 400 the following year, as Finance Minister Doris Ahnen (SPD) announced when presenting the double budget in the state parliament in Mainz.
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According to the traffic light government’s plans, personnel expenses should amount to around 9 billion euros in 2025 and 9.5 billion euros in 2026 next year. The Finance Minister reported that this is around 37 percent of the adjusted total expenditure. Only a small part of this involves staff from the ministries, but mainly from teachers, police officers, employees of the judiciary and financial administration and staff from universities.
Education
There will be more staff, especially in the school sector. Ahnen announced that the planned 1,173 additional positions are a response to the development of student numbers, including the increase through immigration, for inclusion, the expansion of all-day schools and for language support.
The education budget remains by far the largest single budget in the state budget. In the next two years, every fourth euro from the state budget in Rhineland-Palatinate will continue to flow into education. Funding for early childhood education and care for the youngest children rose to over one billion euros annually. In 2025, this will be an increase of over 100 million euros compared to the previous year.
Around 44,000 teachers in Rhineland-Palatinate are now working to provide lessons. The Finance Minister announced that around 5.6 billion euros would be invested in teaching provision over the next two years.
Internal security
A total of 487 new positions would be created for internal security. These are intended in particular for the additional employment of new police officers, but also for the judiciary and in connection with the establishment of the new state office for fire and disaster control.
The number of jobs for the entire police department will increase to around 14,100 in 2026, said Ahnen. In 2015 this value was still 12,500. That’s a good 1,600 more jobs for internal security.
The focus is on the number of trained police officers. The SPD politician announced that the announced mark of 10,000 would be reached in October. A further increase of 500 police officers is expected in the next five years.
Justice
The state government’s budget also provides for a further increase in the number of public prosecutors and judges by a total of 36. This should also help combat politically motivated crime, take action against xenophobic and unconstitutional crimes and send a signal against hate crime, said Ahnen.
The municipality
For the coming double budget, the allocations to the municipalities should also be increased and amount to 8.5 billion euros in 2025 and 8.6 billion euros in 2026. Compared to the 2024 budget, this is an increase of around 900 million euros. The state’s total payments to the municipalities amounted to more than a third of the state budget in both years.
The municipal financial equalization will grow by around 349 million in the 2025/2026 double budget. With just under four billion euros for 2025 and over four billion for the first time in 2026, municipal financial equalization has almost doubled in the past ten years.
Migration
The minister reported that around 300 million euros are earmarked annually for the areas of migration, integration and refugee reception in the double budget for 2025 and 2026. This includes 125 million euros annually for the operation of the country’s reception facilities for asylum seekers. For the area of unaccompanied minor refugees, around 80 million euros would be added for both years.
Tax revenue
The finance minister is preparing for less money for the state treasury through tax revenue in the future. For demographic reasons, tax revenue development must be expected to be less dynamic than in previous years. This will noticeably limit the structural income level and thus also the scope for spending in public budgets.
Economic development has been in a weak phase for two years. According to the latest forecasts, a gradual improvement in the situation is expected over the next few months, explained Ahnen. The weaker economy naturally also results in burdens in the area of tax revenue. Currently, the country’s tax revenue has returned to normal after some special effects.
The new census results also had a positive impact on expectations of tax revenue in the country, reported the Finance Minister. In the government draft for the years 2025 and 2026, tax revenues were estimated at a total of 19.2 billion and 19.9 billion euros.
More capital expenditure
As a consequence of the general economic development, the state government is focusing on further strengthening investment spending in the double budget, Ahnen announced. Together with the investments by the state companies, the financial plan would estimate investment expenditure of more than two billion euros each. That will be around 300 million euros in 2025 and around 250 million euros more in 2026 than in 2024.
The double household in numbers
The state government’s double budget for the next two years provides for a total of 25.2 billion euros in expenditure for the coming year and 25.45 billion euros for 2026. According to the traffic light government’s plans, revenue should be around 24.2 billion for next year and 25.1 billion for the year after.
The adoption of the double budget is planned for Tuesday after the debate in Parliament. The state parliament opposition criticizes the fact that too little money is earmarked for municipalities and education.
The Finance Minister assured that the Rhineland-Palatinate state budget is solid. The state government wants living conditions to improve everywhere in Rhineland-Palatinate and that no one is left behind.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240930-930-247849/2
Rhineland-Palatinate is investing heavily in new staff and wants to increase the number of jobs in the state. The bottom line is that the total number of jobs is expected to increase by around 1,500 next year and by another 400 the following year, as Finance Minister Doris Ahnen (SPD) announced when presenting the double budget in the state parliament in Mainz.
According to the traffic light government’s plans, personnel expenses should amount to around 9 billion euros in 2025 and 9.5 billion euros in 2026 next year. The Finance Minister reported that this is around 37 percent of the adjusted total expenditure. Only a small part of this involves staff from the ministries, but mainly from teachers, police officers, employees of the judiciary and financial administration and staff from universities.
