Over 375,000 Unemployed: Unemployment Rises Again

The weak economic development continues to burden the domestic labor market. According to figures released on Wednesday, around 375,120 people were registered as unemployed or in training with the Public Employment Service (AMS) at the end of September, of which 299,180 were unemployed and around 75,940 were in AMS training programs. This marks the 30th consecutive monthly increase in unemployment figures since April 2023.

Unemployment Rises Again in September

Compared to the same month last year, the number of unemployed and training participants increased by 5.8 percent or 20,455 people in September. The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points to 7 percent.

"The longest economic crisis of the Second Republic is pushing more and more companies to their limits: Many can no longer 'hold their breath' or keep their staff for better times," commented AMS head Johannes Kopf on the current unemployment data in a statement.

AMS Head: Unemployment Grows "Across All Major Sectors"

There are "almost weekly bad news" for the labor market, most recently from Lenzing and Unimarkt. Unemployment is growing "across all major sectors, in all federal states (only minimally in Carinthia) and affects every age group," according to the AMS board. "In short: There is currently nothing positive to report from the labor market."

Labor and Social Affairs Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ) pointed out in a press release the difficult situation for older unemployed individuals. "There is still a long way ahead of us to sustainably and permanently improve the labor market situation for employees over 55." It requires "especially a change in thinking among employers," said the Labor Minister.

Strong Increase in Unemployment in Industry and Trade, Construction Relatively Stable

According to AMS, the industry and manufacturing sector and trade, as well as the federal states of Tyrol, Salzburg, and Upper Austria, were once again particularly affected by the rise in unemployment in a sector comparison. The largest percentage increase in unemployed people and individuals in AMS training was at the end of September compared to the same month last year in the health and social sector (+16.9 percent), trade (+9.8 percent), manufacturing/industry (+8.8 percent), and transport and storage (+8.8 percent). The increase was lower in gastronomy and accommodation (+4.7 percent) and in construction (+0.7 percent). There was no percentage change in unemployment figures in temporary employment.

"The above-average increase in the health and social sector is mainly due to statistical reasons," AMS stated in the summer. In addition to the sharply rising employment due to the higher demand for care, employment is also increasing because more and more care and health facilities, which were previously run 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 AMS. Consequently, the number of employees and unemployed in this area has noticeably increased.

The ongoing economic downturn is also noticeable in job advertisements. The immediately available open positions reported by companies to AMS decreased by 14 percent to 78,677 at the end of September compared to the same month last year. The ÖVP Economic Association records all online job portals in its job monitor and noted 161,455 open positions in Austria.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.