The Federation of Austrian Industry (IV), the Chamber of Labour (AK), and the League for Child and Youth Health have voiced serious concern over Austria’s challenging economic situation and called on the next government to pursue urgent reforms.
Federation of Austrian Industry (IV)
“There is a fire on the roof,” said IV President Georg Knill, warning of the risks to Austria’s competitiveness and prosperity. Following the September parliamentary elections, the People’s Party (ÖVP) is in coalition talks with the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and NEOS, and Knill stated the IV intends to “intensively engage in the coalition negotiation process.” It is, he said, crucial “to ensure that Austria regains prosperity.”
Despite notable real wage growth, Knill pointed to recent data indicating that the country’s GDP per capita has fallen by 2.1% since 2019. He emphasised the urgent need to restore competitiveness, as 60% of Austrian production is exported abroad.
IV’s Growth Plan
The IV outlined its proposals for escaping the recession in Vienna on Wednesday. To boost the economy, the IV calls for reductions in government spending, bureaucracy, taxes, energy costs, and labour-related expenses, along with raising the effective retirement age. It also advocates for stronger incentives for investment and easier depreciation rules, and proposed a full-time bonus to make full-time work more appealing than part-time. The IV also recommends an expansion in private and non-profit housing construction.
Chamber of Labour (AK)
The Chamber of Labour (AK) presented a new employment package on Thursday, focusing on skills development for the unemployed, older workers, and apprentices. According to AK expert Ines Stilling, there are 660,000 employees aged 55 and over in Austria, with many working in critical industries. Approximately 22.5% of men and 18.4% of women are aged 55 or older, and nearly 300,000 are expected to retire within the next five to ten years, especially impacting healthcare (expected to lose 37,000 workers) and transport (down by 30,000).
Unemployment has been on the rise across all age groups for the past year, now exceeding pre-Covid-19 levels. “More than 370,000 jobseekers are registered with the Public Employment Service (AMS),” Stilling noted, adding that “over 47% of jobseekers only have a compulsory school qualification.” She explained that retraining challenges persist, as “the laid-off employee from a furniture chain in Upper Austria can’t easily fill the demand for skilled workers as a nurse in Vienna or a high-voltage technician in Styria.”
AK’s Demands
The Chamber of Labour outlined four core demands, including training young people for “future-proof professions,” a “skills qualification drive for specialists,” making it easier to employ the “silent reserve” (those who have stopped looking for work), and creating an “age-appropriate working environment.”
League for Child and Youth Health
The League for Child and Youth Health issued ten key demands to the future government on Thursday, recommending a €2 billion investment for “a promising upbringing” and the establishment of a Ministry for Children. Its proposals address issues from child poverty and mental health to climate protection. “Every penny invested in prevention saves, scientifically proven, a multiple of the subsequent economic costs,” said Hedwig Wölfl, vice president of the Children’s League.
The League’s president, Christoph Hackspiel, highlighted that children’s health is affected by various factors, including socio-economic conditions and the digitalisation of society. “In Austria, 22 percent of children and young people are at risk of poverty or social exclusion,” he said, calling for a stronger commitment to Austria’s National Action Plan for Children’s Opportunities to meet the EU’s 2030 target of eradicating child poverty.
