The situation on the labor market did not improve in February, but the increase in unemployment figures was somewhat smaller than in recent months. At the end of the month, 436,160 people were registered as unemployed or in training, 1.4 percent—or 6,220 people—more than in the same month last year, the Arbeitsmarktservice (AMS) said in a statement on Monday. In several provinces, the figures are already declining, and AMS head Johannes Kopf sees signs of easing.
“Although the number of people registered with the AMS as unemployed or in training is rising, clear signs of the forecast recovery are already visible in some areas: In Upper Austria and Carinthia, unemployment is falling, and at the same time the number of new job openings is fortunately increasing again,” Kopf was quoted as saying. In January, unemployment had risen by 2.4 percent year-over-year, and by 2 percent in December. The unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 8.3 percent in February.
There was a decline not only in Upper Austria (minus 0.8 percent) and Carinthia (minus 0.7 percent), but also in Vienna (minus 0.1 percent). A slight increase was recorded in Salzburg (plus 1.5 percent), while it was somewhat stronger in Tyrol (plus 2.7 percent), Styria (plus 3.1 percent), and Burgenland (plus 4.3 percent). The sharpest increases were seen in Lower Austria (plus 5.4 percent) and Vorarlberg (plus 5.7 percent).
Uncertainty is being caused by the war in the Middle East and its possible impact on the domestic labor market—despite the positive signals in February. Kopf said: “In addition to all the human suffering, this conflict could also significantly weigh on our economic recovery.”
Available Apprenticeships
By sector, there was a decline in hospitality and accommodation (minus 0.5 percent), which is attributed to a positive tourism season. In industry (plus 0.7 percent) and construction (plus 1 percent), the increases were comparatively low. In retail, unemployment rose by 4.4 percent, and in health and social services by 11.3 percent.
The AMS reported a 10.3 percent decline in immediately available job openings to around 72,000. However, there was a positive development in newly advertised positions, which increased by 4.1 percent to 46,701. The number of immediately available apprenticeship positions declined by 13.3 percent compared to the previous year. Apprenticeships have recently been the subject of renewed debate, with the Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund (ÖGB) and the Arbeiterkammer (AK), for example, complaining of a widening gap in the supply of apprenticeship positions.
