LINZ. The number of unemployed people has increased by 20.8 percent compared to the previous year (as of May 2024). Almost a quarter of them have been unemployed for more than a year. Since these people “have a hard time” on the job market, as the managing director of the Upper Austria Social Platform, Josef Pürmayr, says, there are special support programs. These are intended to support reintegration into the job market and are mainly financed by the Public Employment Service (AMS).
- Also read: Tight budgets mean cuts in employment projects for the unemployed [OÖNplus]
Now, after being reduced to 161 million euros for this year, the budget will be cut by a further five million for 2025. According to Magdalena Danner, chairwoman of the social platform, however, 167 million euros are needed to be able to maintain the level of activity at all.
Noticeable effects
The approximately 20 Upper Austrian social enterprises must, due to the cuts, find ways to reduce care staff and places for so-called transit workers (unemployed persons who are temporarily employed and qualified in a socio-economic enterprise, note.). At she:works, which specializes in supporting women, the effects are already noticeable. “We can no longer support the participants in our programs with their living expenses. We have also had to cut some childcare,” says managing director Susanne Steckerl.
Volkshilfe Arbeitswelt has also had to close a restaurant in Schärding, and eleven transit jobs have been eliminated, as managing director Martin Zwicker reports.
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Image: Volkshilfe, Michael Jagsich
Source: Nachrichten
