The number of job vacancies in 2024 was significantly lower compared to 2023. Last year, companies reported an average of 173,800 open positions, which is a decrease of 15.8 percent compared to the previous year. This marks the second consecutive year of decline. “Nevertheless, the number of vacancies in 2024 remains the third-highest ever recorded. The shortage of skilled and unskilled workers remains a bottleneck,” said Tobias Thomas, Director General of Statistics Austria.

This is also reflected in the “vacancy rate,” meaning the proportion of open positions to all available positions, which stood at 4 percent on average for the year. “By far the most labor force demand in 2024 was in retail and the services sector, with 57.5 percent of all advertised positions reported there,” the statisticians noted in a press release on Thursday. The number of open positions in the public and social sectors remained relatively stable. Generally, it can be noted that the number of open positions decreased continuously throughout 2024.

Significant Increase in Gross Salary

According to Statistics Austria, the majority of the vacancies were for full-time positions. More than one-fifth of these positions offered a salary of 3,100 euros or more. “As in 2023, about four out of five vacancies were for full-time positions. A noticeable increase was seen in the expected gross salary. While only 15.6 percent of vacant positions were offered with a salary of 3,100 euros or more last year, this rose to 21.7 percent in 2024,” said Statistics Austria.

For the majority of vacant positions (41.6 percent), a compulsory school diploma was sufficient, while 29.4 percent of positions preferred a vocational qualification. A completed high school diploma was required for 11.1 percent of the vacancies, and a higher qualification for 11.5 percent. The search duration decreased slightly compared to the previous year: 28.2 percent of vacancies took longer than three months to fill, and 29 percent were “permanently advertised,” according to Statistics Austria.