Figures on labor migration paint a “worrying picture” for the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV). Between 2011 and 2023, around 1.4 million people emigrated from Austria – including more than 170,000 permanently employed skilled workers who had already been integrated into the labor market, according to a study by migration researcher Rainer Münz commissioned by the IV. Many of those who left came from affluent EU and OECD countries.
However, immigration to Austria in recent years has exceeded emigration. In total, between 2011 and 2023, around 2.2 million people newly or once again entered the country, the IV told APA upon request with reference to the report. “While highly qualified EU immigrants disproportionately often leave the country again, less well-integrated people tend to remain in Austria longer,” said the Federation of Austrian Industries.
IV President: Emigration is an expression of ‘structural location disadvantages’
The study did not provide total figures for the immigration of skilled workers to Austria. However, of those who immigrated between 2017 and 2019, more than half had left again after four years, according to the analysis. “This is not a problem of lacking willingness to integrate, but an expression of structural location disadvantages: too many taxes, too much bureaucracy, too little perspective,” said IV President Georg Knill in a statement.
“To reverse the trend and keep international qualified workers in the country longer, we need to work on the location’s framework conditions,” said the IV head. This includes lowering non-wage labor costs, accelerating and simplifying procedures for the Red-White-Red Card. “Equally decisive, however, are high-quality childcare services and a genuine culture of welcome,” explained the industry representative.
Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP) pointed in response to the IV study to changes in migration and labor market policy. “With our realignment, employment from day one will become a core element of the integration program,” Plakolm said in a statement. Every asylum seeker with a high probability of recognition will “be prepared for the labor market from the very beginning.” Plans include greater involvement of the Integration Fund’s Skilled Workers Service, simplifying recognition procedures, and close cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and the social partners in an expert forum.
