Situation in Lower Austria is bleak

AMS only has 16,000 jobs for 40,000 unemployed people

More and more people currently have to "go on the dole" in Lower Austria. Symbol photo

(Bild: APA/dpa/Oliver Berg)

Opposing trends are currently shaping the job market in Lower Austria: fewer and fewer vacancies for more and more job seekers! As a result, the number of long-term unemployed is now rising again. The qualifications of applicants are playing an increasingly decisive role in job placement. 

The downward spiral in economic development has now also fully affected the labor market in Lower Austria. Exactly 40,027 people were registered as unemployed in the largest federal state at the beginning of this month. "That's 10.1 percent more than a year ago," explains AMS Director Sandra Kern.

At more than 15 percent, the sharpest rise in unemployment was among people who have only completed compulsory schooling. Targeted training and further education improves the chances of re-entry.

Sandra Kern, Leiterin des AMS in NÖ

Bild: krone.tv

Long job search
If you include all those who are currently attending training courses offered by the Public Employment Service, there are even more than 49,400 people waiting for a job. And for many of those affected, this may well take even longer. In contrast to the number of unemployed, the number of vacancies that the AMS can currently offer has fallen by more than 14 percent within a year. There are only 16,162 vacancies on offer, plus 1370 available apprenticeships.

The construction industry is currently particularly affected by job losses.

(Bild: Franz Neumayr)

Little to do in construction
With an increase of 11.8%, men are more affected by job losses than women (+8.1%), which is probably also due to the fact that the construction industry in particular is suffering from a lack of orders (see additional report below) and the number of jobs lost in this sector has risen by 19.4% compared to 2023. Youth unemployment has risen by 17.4 percent.