
Unemployment in Austria continues to rise as the recession takes its toll, with 445,513 people registered as unemployed or in training with the Public Employment Service (AMS) by the end of January.
Of these, 365,746 were unemployed, while 79,767 were taking part in AMS training programmes. This marks a 5.8% increase from the previous year, with 24,306 more people either out of work or in training. The unemployment rate has risen by 0.5% to 8.6%.
“The tense economic situation across Europe continues to affect the domestic labour market, but the impact on the unemployment rate is less severe than in previous crises,” said Labour Minister Martin Kocher. He also pointed out that the current unemployment rate for January is “0.7 percentage points below the 10-year average.”
Petra Draxl, a member of the AMS board, added, “We do not expect a recovery of the labour market or a decrease in unemployment in the coming months,” reflecting the difficult outlook.
The largest rise in unemployment and AMS training participants was seen in manufacturing and industry, with an increase of 14.6%. Smaller rises were observed in retail (+8.4%), health and social services (+7.4%), hospitality and accommodation (+5.5%) and temporary employment (+0.2%). However, the construction sector saw a decline in unemployment, with a drop of 3%.