The economic slowdown continues to impact Austria’s labor market. At the end of October, around 388,000 people were registered as unemployed or in training with the Public Employment Service (AMS), representing an increase of about 16,500 people, or 4.4 percent. The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points to 7.2 percent, the AMS reported on Monday. This marks the 31st consecutive monthly rise in unemployment since April 2023.
There is no real end to the negative trend in sight: although growth is slowly returning, “the momentum does not match that of previous recoveries,” commented AMS Executive Director Petra Draxl. “International indicators remain poor and inflation is still very high. We therefore expect unemployment to continue rising in the first half of 2026, with a decline only from midyear onward,” Draxl said.
Lower Austria and Styria see largest increases
The industrially oriented provinces of Lower Austria and Styria recorded the sharpest rises (each up 6.8 percent), followed by Upper Austria (up 5.9 percent). Next were Burgenland (up 5.8 percent), Vorarlberg (up 4.3 percent), Tyrol (up 4.1 percent), Salzburg (up 3.9 percent), and Vienna (up 3.1 percent). Carinthia fared best, with only a slight increase of 0.6 percent.
By sector, trade (up 3,850 people) and manufacturing (up 2,000 people) saw the largest absolute increases in unemployment or training participants. Also notable was the rise in female unemployment (up 6.5 percent or 11,350 people) compared to that of men (up 2.6 percent or 5,100). Joblessness among Austrian citizens increased more strongly (up 5.3 percent or around 11,200 people) than among foreign nationals (up 3.3 percent or 5,300 people).
Compared with the previous month, the number of job vacancies increased slightly, according to the job monitor of the ÖVP-affiliated Business Federation. It reported around 164,000 open positions at the end of October, mainly in tourism and hospitality — a problem given the approaching winter season, according to the statement. However, compared to the previous year, the number of immediately available vacancies fell sharply by 12.8 percent, AMS data showed.
