“We have more work than people working”

686,000 people were employed in Upper Austria at the end of December, 1,500 more than in the previous year. The unemployment rate was recently 5.7 percent, and 41,200 people were unemployed. More than 23,000 positions are open. “If you look at the economic development, the situation on the labor market is surprisingly good, especially in Upper Austria,” said Peter Huber, regional economist at the economic research institute Wifo, at a press conference with State Economics Councilor Markus Achleitner.

The general conditions have changed, so labor market policy also needs to be realigned, said Achleitner. In the past, the money was needed to get the unemployed into employment. Today it’s about meeting the workforce needs and training people. The budget and direction are set out in the “Upper Austrian Pact for Work and Qualification”. The budget, most recently 326 million euros, comes from AMS Upper Austria, the federal state and social ministry service.

In order to meet the challenges as accurately as possible, the state commissioned Wifo to examine the pact. Huber gave the agreement good marks. Compared to Austria and the EU, Upper Austria is characterized by a good labor market and social situation. Here he mentioned, for example, the low youth unemployment.

Despite the good labor market situation, he identified groups with potential, especially older people, women and part-time underemployed people. One of Wifo’s recommendations is therefore to activate these groups: “An important starting point is additional care facilities for children and relatives in need of care, as well as preventive measures to maintain health,” said Huber: The employment participation of those over 55 years of age would be clear in an EU comparison show deficits.

Better communication

The evaluation by Wifo should be incorporated into the new edition of the pact, which is expected to be decided in March: According to Achleitner, a different focus is necessary. The measures are to be made even more target group-specific and flexible and communication about them is to be improved: “There are more than 100 measures and they should be used even better by companies.” The number of working hours for part-time workers should also increase and awareness of the consequences should be raised. This is accompanied by an improvement in the general conditions, for example through ongoing improvements to the care offering.