AMS Takes Action: Unemployment Benefits More Frequently Blocked Last Year

The Public Employment Service (AMS) imposed more unemployment benefit suspensions last year than in 2023. Specifically, the number of sanctions increased by about 4.8 percent to 162,435, as reported by the AMS.

Unemployment Benefit Suspensions Increased in 2024

The increase is justified by rising unemployment numbers and consistent behaviour of the unemployment benefit recipients. At the end of December 2024, 426,012 people were looking for jobs, 27,007 more than at the end of 2023.

According to the AMS, there were just over 44,200 sanctions in 2024 due to "day-to-day absence from training" (Paragraph 10 of the Unemployment Insurance Act/AlVG) - an increase of about 11.1 percent compared to 2023. Over 34,100 sanctions (up 5.6 percent) resulted - also according to Paragraph 10 - from "refusal or obstruction of work/training".

Sanctions Mostly for "Missed" AMS Appointments

By far the most sanctions, around 52,600, were imposed by the AMS due to unexcused "missed" AMS appointments according to Paragraph 49. Here, the increase compared to 2023 was just under 5.6 percent. With 1,480 suspensions, the sanctions for "rejections/terminations due to lack of willingness to work" (Paragraph 9) almost doubled.

Just under 30,000 times there was a waiting period for unemployment benefits due to self-inflicted job termination - a decrease of 6.7 percent. Fewer self-terminations are a sign of a worse economic development, according to the AMS.

(APA/Red)

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