Labor market in Lower Austria

Job loss currently affects more women than men

Women in industry - many fear for their jobs.(Bild: Marco - stock.adobe.com)

The number of unemployed women in Lower Austria has recently risen by 8.4 percent. A total of 52,000 people are looking for a job here.

Not good times for industry: the domestic labor market in this sector is thinning out noticeably. In November alone, the number of unemployed people in production increased by 11.9 percent compared to the previous year. And as there are currently few signs of an economic turnaround, a further rise in unemployment in Lower Austria is to be expected in the coming year. At least the increase in the construction sector (+ 4.2%) has leveled off, which has now been overtaken not only by industry, but also by trade (+ 8.8%) and gastronomy (+ 7.7%) in terms of job losses.

Negative developments
Women are now more strongly affected by these negative developments on the labor market. Almost 1500 have lost their jobs in the past four weeks alone. That is 8.4 percent more than a year ago. The increase for men was 6.3 percent, or 1371 additional unemployed.

We are concerned about the industry. If the economic upturn fails to materialize, we expect to see more unemployed people next year.

Sandra Kern, Geschäftsführerin des AMS in Niederösterreich

Bild: © Daniel Shaked

St. Pölten district is the front runner
A total of 42,266 people are now registered as unemployed in Lower Austria - 7.3 percent more than in the pre-Christmas period of 2023, but less than the Austrian average. If you include those on AMS training courses, a total of 52,228 people are currently looking for a job. However, there are only 13,681 vacancies. Most of the unemployed - namely 5,493 - are registered in the St. Pölten region, while unemployment has fallen in two districts in recent weeks - by 0.3 percent in the Baden district and by 7 percent in the Zwettl district.