Slight decline

Unemployment rate stood at 7.6 percent at the end of February

At the end of February, the unemployment rate in Austria was 7.6 percent. This is a slight decrease compared to the previous month (8.1 percent). According to Minister of Labor and Economy Martin Kocher (ÖVP), the development among women over 50 is particularly pleasing.

In a comparison of the federal states, the unemployment rate is highest in Vienna (11.8 percent) and lowest in Tyrol (4.1 percent, see chart below). A total of 402,297 people were registered without a job at the end of February, the majority of them unemployed (321,655) and a smaller proportion in training measures (80,642).

"At the end of February 2024, there were also more people in employment than in the previous year. The comparatively good labor market situation for women over 50, who are an important target group for active labor market policy, is encouraging. It is a clear sign that the active labor market policy instruments are working," said Minister Kocher in a press release.

Here you can see the unemployment rate by province.

More and more young people affected
While the unemployment rate for women over 50 has remained constant compared to the previous year, the number of unemployed people with a migrant background and young people and young adults under the age of 25 has increased (see chart below).

"We should get young people interested in the jobs we need for the socio-ecological transformation - for example with a training offensive for thermal renovation. To do this, we need to create enough training places that teach the latest technology. Both schools and companies have a role to play here," said Chamber of Labor President Renate Anderl.

Here you can see the figures in detail.

These sectors have many vacancies
At the moment, there is a surplus of apprenticeships in most federal states, said Kocher. "Qualified workers are currently being sought in almost all sectors." The Wirtschaftsbund's job monitor recorded 178,541 vacancies in February.

Most of these are in the office, marketing, finance, law and security sectors (27,192), followed by construction, ancillary building trades, wood and building technology (19,954) and electrical engineering, electronics, telecommunications and IT (18,148). Significantly fewer workers are being sought in the textile, clothing, fashion and leather sector (161) or in the mining, raw materials, glass, ceramics and stone sectors (250), for example.

"We can see that the demand for workers is increasing again after the economic downturn and that the shortage of workers is unfortunately not a short-term phenomenon, but will accompany us in the coming years and will continue to increase," said Kurt Egger, Secretary General of the Wirtschaftsbund, in a press release. In order to stem the shortage, a reduction in non-wage labor costs is also necessary.