While this had peaked in April 2021 with 148,436 people, only 80,148 people are currently unemployed for more than a year. This is the lowest December value since 2013. ÖVP Labor Minister Martin Kocher attributes the significant decline in long-term unemployment to the Springboard program, which was launched in mid-2021 and is to be continued this year.
Viewed by gender, 150,875 women (six percent) and 223,996 men (8.6 percent) were unemployed or in training at the end of 2022. Compared to the previous year, the unemployment rate for women fell by 17,331 and for men by 10,176. At the end of December 2022, 104,990 people aged 50 and over were registered as unemployed with the AMS. In 2021 this value was 116,948 people, in 2019 it was 116,203 people.
Youth unemployment is currently 56,130 people and has therefore also fallen by 918 people compared to the previous year. At the end of 2022, 3,586 people were pre-registered for short-time work. At the end of 2021, 233,769 people were still being billed. Short-time work was last extended in its current form until mid-2023.
“Extraordinarily good” development
Both the domestic labor market and the domestic economy have developed “extraordinarily well” in view of the events of 2022, according to the Ministry of Labor in its press release. The expiry of the CoV measures led to a strong upswing, which, however, was also severely dampened by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
In the first half of the year, unemployment fell significantly and, at 332,645 people on average, reached a long-term low, Labor Minister Kocher is quoted as saying. In the course of the year, 588,334 people were brought into employment from unemployment. The number of jobseekers registered with the AMS this year is the lowest year-on-year since 2012. However, the numbers in November were somewhat lower: At that time, 330,454 people were registered as unemployed or in training – more on this in oesterreich.ORF.at.
Fewer workers are moving up
One reason for the current development is also that with the wave of retirements among the baby boomers, the baby boomers are now moving up, in other words: fewer people are entering the domestic labor market. This could increase the shortage of workers – especially among skilled workers – even if the economy slows down, Kocher told Ö1.
The amount of the increase in the number of unemployed, which was then expected by economic researchers this year, depends primarily on the development of the energy markets, said Kocher. Instead of the planned and now canceled labor market reform, he now wants to focus on small steps, including expanding childcare and reducing youth unemployment.
Head expects slight increase
The head of the AMS, Johannes Kopf, said in the Ö1 interview that he was satisfied with the numbers, anything else would be “outrageous”. The stronger decline in unemployment in Tyrol and Salzburg, for example, has to do primarily with tourism, while in Upper Austria the number of unemployed is already low. Possible leading indicators have been observed very closely for months, and in the construction industry, for example, there are slight tendencies towards a weakening of the economy.
Lower Austria recorded the strongest decline in unemployment, according to the AMS Lower Austria. At the end of December, there were 48,732 unemployed, an unemployment rate of 7.1 percent, down 11.4 percent. In Vienna, 148,455 people are unemployed or in training. That is a decline of six percent, most notably in the hotel and catering industry and in retail.
In view of the inflation, he doesn’t see the big crisis at the moment, Kopf continued, the booking situation in tourism is also “excellent”, and the lack of snow is currently the bigger problem here. Head expects unemployment to rise at a low level in the first half of 2023. Companies that would make an effort and respond to the needs of employees, for example in terms of home office and paternity leave, would also find employees, said Kopf on the subject of the labor shortage.
Demand for expansion of child care
The fact that unemployment rose again across Austria in December was a trend that had to be taken seriously, the Chamber of Labor (AK) announced. “It is all the more important that unemployed people receive better support. With an unemployment benefit of 55 percent of the previous payment and the current inflation, this is not guaranteed. The AK has therefore been calling for unemployment benefits to be increased to 70 percent for a long time,” emphasized AK President Renate Anderl.
Ingrid Reischl, chief secretary of the Austrian Trade Union Federation, sees the current labor market data as positive news, but says Reischl that a “boost in active labor market policy is needed”. “We consider it positive that the environmental foundation 2022, which we have been calling for for a long time, has been implemented. For this purpose, however, the necessary expansion of all-day childcare places must finally be promoted.” The AK demands that an educational bonus, such as that for a nursing grant, be required for the qualification of specialists. Instead, the Ministry of Commerce would tighten sanctions for job seekers.
Active unemployed Austria: Take advantage of the good location
The currently good situation on the labor market should be used to align labor market policy with “democratic and human rights principles”, then finds the initiative “Active Unemployed Austria”. She demands from the Minister of Labor that unemployment benefits and emergency assistance are value-secured, i.e. automatically adjusted to inflation.
WKO locates a problem despite robust numbers
Karlheinz Kopf, Secretary General of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO), was also pleased with the labor market figures, but sees a problem in their robustness: every company tries to keep employees even when the order situation is falling, out of concern that there will not be enough workers when the economy is picking up to have, head is quoted in a broadcast. Head also called for the expansion of childcare and incentives for older employees so that they work beyond the standard retirement age.
IV calls for “future-oriented” labor market policy
According to the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV), the increasing shortage of workers and skilled workers is one of the key challenges for Austria’s companies. She called for a “future-oriented” labor market policy. According to IV General Secretary Christoph Neumayer, potential on the labor market must be leveraged and work promoted, not unemployment – he also insists on a strong expansion of childcare.
Unemployment as low as in 2008
At the end of December, 374,871 people were registered with the Public Employment Service (AMS) as unemployed or in training. Of these, 65,653 people were in training, the Department of Labor said on Monday. The unemployment rate at the end of the year was 7.4 percent. Calculated over the year as a whole, the unemployment rate is 6.3 percent – according to the ministry, the lowest value since 2008. However, the rate is likely to rise again in 2023.
Economic Association General Secretary Kurt Egger (ÖVP) also misses sufficient staff for various sectors, especially in the areas of trade, logistics and transport, where more than 45,000 jobs could not be filled. In combination with the energy crisis, the shortage is bringing companies to the brink of existence, says Egger. Further relief measures and labor market reforms are needed to overcome this problem. For him, this also includes an extension of the tax exemption for overtime.
SPÖ for more unemployment benefits, FPÖ for the end of sanctions
SPÖ social spokesman Josef Muchitsch also calls for an increase in unemployment benefits. The average unemployment benefit is around 1,000 euros below the risk of poverty threshold, said Muchitsch in his broadcast. In the case of prolonged unemployment, inflation also “massively” devalues unemployment benefits.
On the other hand, Dagmar Belakowitsch, social spokeswoman for the FPÖ, was less pleased with the figures and the “celebratory mood” of the Minister of Labor. The “big end” is still to come when the increased energy prices take full effect and the necessary wage increases take effect. As a result, she fears further increases in prices or layoffs. As a countermeasure, Belakovich pleads for an end to the sanctions against Russia and for the price commission to become active so that the reduction in energy prices on the world market can also affect the domestic market.
Private households as a pillar of the economy
In the first half of the year, economic growth was surprisingly high due to catching-up processes after the strict CoV measures, Kocher continued in his broadcast, mainly due to the revival of tourism. Due to the war of aggression and the subsequent increase in prices, the economy has clouded over significantly, also in view of the global economy. Due to the relief packages for private households, private consumption is a pillar of the domestic economy.
The exports of the domestic economy were robust in 2022 and grew by 18.7 percent to 144.3 billion euros in the first three quarters. 68 percent went to the EU, above all to Germany (30 percent), Italy (6.9 percent) and the USA (6.5 percent). According to figures, the growth was particularly strong for exports to France at 27.7 percent and Hungary at 29.1 percent.
