The number of corporate insolvencies in Austria continued to rise in the first three quarters of 2025. According to an estimate by the creditor protection association KSV1870, 5,110 businesses filed for insolvency, 5.3 percent more than in the same period last year. This corresponds to around 19 bankruptcies per day. However, preliminary liabilities fell by 58 percent to €6.4 billion. A total of 15,200 employees were affected, almost one-fifth fewer than in 2024.
Retail was hit particularly hard, with 921 insolvencies (+10 percent), followed by construction with 784 cases (-3 percent), and accommodation and gastronomy with 603 insolvencies (unchanged). A drastic increase of 62 percent was recorded in the real estate sector. “In particular, project developers remain in a precarious position due to strained cost structures and a limited number of construction projects,” explained KSV insolvency head Karl-Heinz Götze. At the same time, the number of proceedings not opened due to lack of assets rose to nearly 1,800 (+8 percent).
The third quarter of 2025 did bring a slight respite, with 1,600 cases marking the lowest level of the year so far, but KSV1870 does not see the insolvency wave as broken. Up to 7,000 corporate bankruptcies are expected for the full year. “Whether the latest developments in the third quarter will continue, or whether there will be a similar development as last year with insolvency numbers rising again in the fall, remains to be seen,” said Götze.
Private bankruptcies, on the other hand, showed little change. From January to September 2025, 6,628 debt settlement proceedings were opened nationwide, a decrease of only one percent compared to the previous year. The number remains below pre-pandemic levels. The third quarter, as usual, brought the fewest cases of the year.
Liabilities, however, rose sharply: they increased by more than 22 percent to €929 million. The cause was individual cases with particularly high debt volumes, such as in Vienna and Tyrol. On average, debt per debtor now amounts to €140,000—€26,000 more than in 2024.
For the full year, KSV1870 expects 8,800 to 9,000 private bankruptcies and sees future developments as uncertain. “The current situation is within a range we know from the past,” said Götze. High living costs and rising loan repayment rates continue to weigh heavily on many households.
