June Unemployment Rate in Austria Increased

The weak economic development continues to increase unemployment figures. At the end of June, 364,419 people were registered as unemployed or in training with the Public Employment Service (AMS), of which 288,545 were unemployed and 75,874 were in AMS training programs. Compared to the same month last year, the number of unemployed and training participants increased by 7.8 percent or 26,368 people. The unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 6.8 percent.

"These developments underscore the relevance and necessity of active labor market policy measures to stabilize the labor market," said Labor and Social Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ) in a statement on Tuesday. The AMS board of directors recently decided to increase the AMS funding budget "by an additional 40 million euros by 2025".

The economic researchers from IHS and Wifo recently revised their forecast for Austria's economy upwards and no longer expect a third year of recession this year. "Even if economic research and industry want to see the first glimmer of an economic recovery on the horizon, employment is still declining and since April 2023, unemployment in Austria has been rising significantly," commented the head of the Public Employment Service (AMS), Johannes Kopf, on the current labor market data. According to the preliminary forecast of the Ministry of Labor and the AMS, the number of dependent employment relationships for June 2025 amounted to 3.982 million, which is 5,000 fewer than in June 2024.

Economic Slump Noticeable in Job Advertisements

The ongoing economic slump is also noticeable in job advertisements. The immediately available open positions reported by companies to the AMS decreased by 13.8 percent to 84,357 at the end of June compared to the same month last year. The ÖVP Economic Association records all job portals in its job monitor and noted 162,938 open positions.

According to the AMS, the increase in unemployment particularly affected the manufacturing sector and the federal states of Upper Austria and Salzburg. The largest percentage increase in unemployed people and those in AMS training at the end of June compared to the same month last year was in the health and social sector (+13.6 percent) and in manufacturing/industry (+13.2 percent). The increase was slightly lower in trade (+10.6 percent), transport and warehousing (+8.4 percent), and in gastronomy and accommodation (+7.2 percent). There was only a slight increase in unemployment in construction (+1.1 percent) and in temporary employment (+0.9 percent).

Upper Austria with the Strongest Increase in Unemployed and Training Participants

Upper Austria recorded the highest increase in unemployed and training participants (+13.2 percent), followed by Salzburg (+12.8 percent), Vorarlberg (+10.5 percent), Tyrol (+10.1 percent), and Styria (+8.0 percent). The increase was slightly lower in Lower Austria (+6.7 percent), Vienna (+6.2 percent), Burgenland (+5.7 percent), and Carinthia (+4.9 percent). By far the highest unemployment rate at the end of June was recorded in Vienna at 11.4 percent, followed by Burgenland (6.1 percent), Lower Austria (6 percent), Styria (5.9 percent), Carinthia (5.8 percent), Vorarlberg (5.7 percent), and Upper Austria (4.9 percent). The unemployment rate was lower in the tourism hotspots of Salzburg (3.8 percent) and Tyrol (3.7 percent).

(APA/Red)

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