Image: Weibold
There was a drop of around 7,000 people, or 1.9 percent, to 369,769 people unemployed or in AMS training. According to national calculations, the unemployment rate fell to 7 percent and was thus at its lowest value since 2008, the AMS announced on Wednesday. The number of vacancies has fallen noticeably. There are also more young unemployed.
AMS boss Johannes Kopf also referred to an increase in unemployment in construction. “However, the higher level of construction unemployment is probably also partly due to the winter conditions, so we see a poorer development in southern Austria, where more snow has fallen,” says Kopf.
“I suspect that the decline in overall unemployment will come to an end for the time being at the end of March. The forecasts announce a slight increase in unemployment for this year and a fall again as early as 2024. That would be nice, but the shortage of skilled workers will remain with us, according to the AMS -Boss.
Kocher pleased with development
Labor Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) was pleased with the development on the labor market in the press foyer after the Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday. Despite the challenges for companies, especially due to the high energy prices, one still sees “no negative effects on the labor market,” said Kocher. There are currently fewer unemployed than in February 2022.
The number of vacancies has increased and they are at “record level”. However, this is not due to the fact that there are fewer employees, on the contrary: compared to February 2022, the number of dependent employees has increased by around 63,000 people, according to Kocher. The head of department was also pleased with the increase in older employees (over 50 years) (+2 percent).
The prospects for this year’s development are not as good as last year, but there is “good reason for optimism if we succeed in becoming more independent of fossil fuels, especially Russia,” said Kocher. But a lot depends on geopolitical developments, he emphasized.
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