AMS boss gives lecture

Tiroler Adler Runde took a close look at the labor market

AMS board member Johannes Kopf during the presentation.

(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger)

AMS boss Johannes Kopf was a guest in Tyrol. His presentation focused on the development of the unemployment rate and current challenges. On average, an employment relationship only lasts two years. The central wish of the AMS boss is all-day childcare.

The shortage of labor continues to affect local companies. For this reason, the Tiroler Adler Runde invited Austria's AMS board member Johannes Kopf. At the premises of MS Design GmbH in Roppen, which operates as a system supplier in the automotive industry, the AMS boss spoke about the development of unemployment, current challenges and possible solutions. The audience was then able to ask questions.

If I could only wish for one solution to the problem of the labor shortage, it would be all-day childcare so that families actually have a choice of who goes to work and for how long.

Johannes Kopf

2021 year of upheaval
"We started 2021 with a massive unemployment rate as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. But by the end of the year, we were already talking about a labor shortage for the first time," Kopf looked back. Tourism was the main sector affected. Now, three years later, Austria is in a recession. "Construction and industry are suffering the most."

The Tiroler Adler Runde invited AMS boss Johannes Kopf to MS Design GmbH in Roppen.

(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger)

Childcare and immigration only two solutions
Only a slight increase in the unemployment rate is expected this year. "According to forecasts by Wifo and the IHS, it should fall again by 2025," says Kopf, who warns, however, that "the forecasts are rarely correct". The head of the AMS sees demographics as one reason for the shortage of skilled workers. There are fewer nationals on the labor market today than in the past. Whereas at the beginning of the 2010s, four employees "carried" one retiree, today there are significantly fewer, Johannes Kopf summed up the effects.

By promoting qualifications, less well-trained employees can be trained as skilled workers within the company.

Johannes Kopf

Increased retirement age for women a small ray of hope
The current challenges are compounded by the fact that "it is very difficult to place workers across regions. Last year, the unemployment rate in Vienna was around three times as high as in Tyrol. But getting someone from Vienna to move to another province rarely works".

A minimal ray of hope in the upheavals on the labor market: "The retirement age for women has been rising since 1 January 2024." Incidentally, this was written into the constitution 35 years ago. "Back then, the Constitutional Court ruled that the different retirement age for women and men was unconstitutional. The politicians at the time then quickly turned it into a constitutional law, with a time limit of 35 years," Kopf provided an anecdote.

The AMS Executive Board (left) in conversation with members of the Tiroler Adler Runde.

(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger)

All-day childcare as a key wish
But what other solutions are there to get more employees into companies? The AMS boss had several in his luggage. "But if I could only wish for one of them, it would be all-day childcare." Another potential lies in working longer hours. And, of course, in workers from abroad. "But we need to do much more to promote the location. Austria is not very well known in the world. In recent years, only around 3,000 people have come to Austria each year via the Red-White-Red Card," Kopf calculated. Another approach that many companies would not think of: "Fishing" in their own workforce. "By promoting qualifications, less well-trained employees can be trained as skilled workers within the company," assured the AMS board member.

He also made an appeal to strengthen the HR department. "Also conduct exit interviews when an employee leaves the company. This is the only way you can learn how to become a more attractive employer."

Facts and figures

6.4 percent was the unemployment rate in Austria in 2023. In Vienna, it was 10.6 percent, almost three times as high as in Tyrol at 3.9 percent.

"Experiment" with 800 fictitious job applications
Another interesting fact: the AMS carried out an "experiment" some time ago. "800 fictitious applications were sent out, each with a 32-year-old and a 52-year-old. The applications with the 52-year-old hardly received any feedback from the companies," explained Kopf. He warned that the potential of older workers should not be ignored.

Most of the questions from the audience afterwards were very specific. One interesting question, however, was why so many companies were desperately looking for staff despite an unemployment rate of around six percent. Kopf's answer: "The labor market is very dynamic. Half of these people are unemployed for a very short time. The reason for this is that the average employment relationship now only lasts two years."