According to AMS analysis

Almost 20 percent more unemployed than in the previous year

The AMS recorded a huge increase in the number of unemployed Upper Austrians last March.(Bild: Karl Schöndorfer TOPPRESS)

There were 33,646 registered unemployed people in Upper Austria in March - almost 21 percent more than in the previous year, according to AMS data. The economic situation is having a particularly noticeable impact in Upper Austria, which is heavily industrialized. Grieskirchen, Eferding and Braunau are the hardest hit.

The AMS registered 5792 more unemployed people in Upper Austria than in March of the previous year. This is 20.8 percent, i.e. over a fifth more than in the previous year, a total of 33,646. The sharpest increase was among people with low qualifications and foreign workers. 

Large regional differences
Unemployment in Upper Austria is currently distributed very differently from region to region. In Grieskirchen, 43.7 percent more people were unemployed in March. In Eferding it was 35.7 percent more, in Braunau 33.4 percent more and in Kirchdorf the number of unemployed rose by 30.3 percent. The smallest increases were recorded in Gmunden (11.8 percent), Freistadt (12.5 percent), Rohrbach (14.3 percent) and Linz (14.7 percent).

The biggest losers
Most of the unemployed (around 20,000) are between 25 and 50 years old and have only completed compulsory schooling (around 17,000). By contrast, the sharpest increase was among university graduates: in March 2024, 35.8% more workers with a university degree were unemployed than in the previous March, around 2000. Foreigners also suffered from the economic situation, with their share rising by 37.2% to almost 13,000.

Third lowest rate nationwide
Despite the enormous increase, Upper Austria is still in third place in a comparison of federal states: lower unemployment rates can only be found in Tyrol (3.7 percent) and Salzburg (3.8 percent). Upper Austria is at 4.6 percent. Bringing up the rear are Burgenland (6.8 percent), Carinthia (7.8 percent) and Vienna with 11.3 percent. Nationwide, 6.9 percent of employees are unemployed.