Abstract
Who accomplishes a work-related exit from welfare benefit receipt for job-seekers and what prevents others from achieving it is a key question for practitioners and researchers. We use data from the Panel Study Labour Market and Social Security (PASS) to examine the relevance of individual labour market barriers in this context. In particular, an age of 51 years or older, long-term benefit receipt, severe health limitations, lack of vocational qualifications, and poor German language skills worsen the chances of leaving welfare benefit receipt. The presence of children in the household reduce the chances of taking up employment for women only.