June Unemployment Rate in Austria Increased

AMS head Johannes Kopf expects a decline in unemployment only in 2026. The weak economic development has been causing unemployment figures to rise in Austria since 2023. At the end of June, 364,419 people were registered as unemployed or in training with the Public Employment Service (AMS), of which 288,545 were unemployed and 75,874 were in AMS training programs. Compared to the same month last year, the number of unemployed and training participants has increased by 7.8 percent.

The unemployment rate increased by 0.5 percentage points to 6.8 percent in June. "These developments underscore the relevance and necessity of active labor market policy measures to stabilize the labor market," said Labor and Social Affairs Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ). The AMS board of directors recently decided to increase the AMS funding budget "by an additional 40 million euros by 2025".

"Silver Lining of an Economic Recovery" Not Noticeable in the Labor Market

The economic researchers from IHS and Wifo have recently revised their forecast for Austria's economy upwards and no longer expect a third year of recession this year. "Even if economic research and industry want to see the first silver lining of an economic recovery on the horizon, employment is still declining and since April 2023, unemployment in Austria has been rising significantly," commented AMS head Kopf on the current labor market data. According to the preliminary forecast of the Ministry of Labor and the AMS, the number of dependent employment relationships for June 2025 amounted to 3.982 million, which is 5,000 fewer than in June 2024.

The AMS head expects positive news from the labor market only next year. "Next year, the economy is expected to grow again, at least over one percent, and combined with demographic development and a reduction in working hours, unemployment should also decrease again next year," Kopf said on Tuesday in the Ö1 "Mittagsjournal". For the employment situation in the domestic automotive supply industry, the AMS board expects "no real improvement for a longer time" due to the weakening German automotive industry.

Economic Slump Noticeable in Job Advertisements

The ongoing economic slump is also noticeable in job advertisements. The immediately available open positions reported by companies to the AMS decreased by 13.8 percent to 84,357 at the end of June compared to the same month last year. The ÖVP Economic Association records all job portals in its job monitor and registered 162,938 open positions.

According to the AMS, the manufacturing sector and the federal states of Upper Austria and Salzburg were once again particularly affected by the increase in unemployment in a sector comparison. The largest percentage increase in unemployed people and persons in AMS training at the end of June compared to the same month last year was in the health and social sector (+13.6 percent) and in manufacturing/industry (+13.2 percent). The increase was somewhat lower in trade (+10.6 percent), transport and warehousing (+8.4 percent), and in gastronomy and accommodation (+7.2 percent). There was only a slight increase in unemployment in construction (+1.1 percent) and in temporary employment (+0.9 percent).

"The above-average increase in the health and social sector is mainly due to statistical reasons," said the AMS in response to an APA inquiry. In addition to the sharply increasing employment due to the higher demand for care, employment is also rising because more and more care and health facilities, which were previously managed by the public sector, are being outsourced. These employees would no longer be counted as public servants in the statistics but would be attributed to the health and social sector, explained the AMS. Consequently, the number of employees in this sector has also increased by 4.5 percent (+14,355 people).

Upper Austria with the strongest increase in unemployed and training participants

Domestic tourism businesses are also acting cautiously in their personnel policies in view of the economic downturn, according to the Public Employment Service. "Despite increased overnight stays, we have not yet felt a real recovery in the tourism labor market. We see restraint and caution in personnel planning among tourism businesses after two years of recession," Kopf is quoted in a special AMS report published today. Unemployment in tourism increased by 10.2 percent in the summer season and by 7.5 percent in the winter compared to the corresponding season in the previous year. Domestic tourism businesses are heavily dependent on foreign workers. According to the AMS, the proportion of Austrian citizens among those employed in tourism has been declining for years. In the past ten years, it has decreased by a quarter to 41.3 percent, while almost 60 percent of employees come from the EU area and third countries.

The highest increase in unemployed and training participants was recorded in Upper Austria (+13.2 percent), followed by Salzburg (+12.8 percent), Vorarlberg (+10.5 percent), Tyrol (+10.1 percent), and Styria (+8.0 percent). The increase was somewhat lower in Lower Austria (+6.7 percent), Vienna (+6.2 percent), Burgenland (+5.7 percent), and Carinthia (+4.9 percent). By far the highest unemployment rate was recorded at the end of June in Vienna at 11.4 percent, followed by Burgenland (6.1 percent), Lower Austria (6 percent), Styria (5.9 percent), Carinthia (5.8 percent), Vorarlberg (5.7 percent), and Upper Austria (4.9 percent). The unemployment rate was lower in the tourism hotspots of Salzburg (3.8 percent) and Tyrol (3.7 percent).

Numerous measures against unemployment demanded

FPÖ social spokesperson Dagmar Belakowitsch called for "immediate measures against rising unemployment, ongoing wave of insolvencies, and increasing pressure on the welfare state" in a statement. For SPÖ social spokesperson Josef Muchitsch, the domestic labor market needs "employment promotion, qualification, and economic growth."

For young unemployed, WKÖ Secretary General Jochen Danninger wants a focus on qualification measures, such as workplace-related AQUA training. The Secretary General of the Federation of Austrian Industries, Christoph Neumayer, is once again pushing for making full-time work more attractive. AK President Renate Anderl urged for an intensified qualification offensive for young people and targeted projects to combat youth unemployment.

(APA/Red)

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