Unemployment Continues to Rise: 375,347 People Without a Job

Compared to the same month last year, the number of unemployed and training participants increased by 6.9 percent or 24,196 people. The unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 6.9 percent.

Unemployment figures have been rising in Austria since April 2023. This year, economic researchers from Wifo and IHS expect a third year of recession and more unemployed people. "As long as we do not have substantial growth, unemployment will not decrease with an increasing labor supply," commented AMS board member Johannes Kopf on the current labor market data. According to preliminary forecasts from the Ministry of Labor and the AMS, the number of dependent employment relationships for May 2025 amounts to 3.965 million, which is 2,000 more than in May 2024.

Unemployment increased by 6.9 percent in May

According to the AMS, the manufacturing sector and the federal states of Upper Austria and Salzburg were once again particularly affected by the rise in unemployment. The largest percentage increase in unemployed people and those in AMS training at the end of May compared to the same month last year was in manufacturing/industry (+13.8 percent), health and social services (+12 percent), and trade (+9.3 percent). The increase was slightly lower in transportation and warehousing (+6.8 percent) and in gastronomy and accommodation (+6.5 percent). Unemployment figures remained almost unchanged in the construction industry (+0.1 percent) and in temporary employment (+0.3 percent).

Upper Austria recorded the highest increase in unemployed and training participants (+13.8 percent), followed by Salzburg (+12.3 percent), Vorarlberg (+9.9 percent), Tyrol (+9.8 percent), and Styria (+7.2 percent). The increase was slightly lower in Carinthia (+5.5 percent), Lower Austria (+4.9 percent), Vienna (+4.8 percent), and Burgenland (+4.7 percent).

Over 100,000 older workers without a job

The number of unemployed nationals, including those in training, climbed by 6.2 percent to around 210,834, and the number of unemployed foreign nationals increased by 7.7 percent to 164,513. The number of older unemployed people (50 years and older) rose by 7.2 percent to 100,100.

"The trend in employing workers aged 50+ is moving in the right direction, although we are still far from where we want to be," said Labor Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ) in a statement. "We need to better utilize the potential of these workers." For the Chamber of Labor, "increased measures for older job seekers are urgently needed." "Even the best labor market policy instruments and subsidies are of little use if companies do not offer opportunities to older job seekers," said AK President Renate Anderl. "Even though more people over 50 are employed again, older job seekers still have a particularly hard time in the labor market," said ÖGB Federal Managing Director Helene Schuberth.

The FPÖ demands "concrete labor market policy measures" from Labor Minister Schumann to combat the rise in unemployment. "In a country where hundreds of thousands of people are now without work, a government cannot afford to stand idly by," said FPÖ social spokesperson Dagmar Belakowitsch. In view of the labor market development, the industry is pushing for relief for companies. "Urgent measures are needed to strengthen our international competitiveness, particularly through a consistent reduction in unit labor costs and an increase in performance incentives in the labor market," said IV Secretary General Christoph Neumayer.

(APA/Red)

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