In Upper Austria

Where unemployment is now growing the most

Insolvencies such as in the retail sector - in this case Esprit - are also reflected in the unemployment statistics.

(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

Unemployment in Upper Austria continues to rise! At the end of July, 33,531 people were registered as unemployed with the AMS. That was almost 3000 more people than at the end of June. The consequences of restrained "economic dynamism", says AMS-OÖ Managing Director Iris Schmidt.

49,540 people were offered a new job by the Public Employment Service in the first half of the year, which was 932 more than between January and June 2023 - this is one of the figures that AMS Upper Austria CEO Iris Schmidt uses to underline the fact that the situation on the labor market may be difficult, but it is anything but hopeless. "Regardless of the economic tensions, the overall employment figures are at a very high level," she says.

More than 22,000 vacancies
What exactly was the situation in Upper Austria at the end of July? 33,531 people were looking for work, exactly 15,905 of whom were women and 17,626 men. In contrast, there were still 22,086 vacancies.

In which sectors has unemployment increased particularly sharply? The Upper Austrian Public Employment Service points to the "production of goods", trade and the hiring out of workers, i.e. temporary workers. It is the latter who are quickly returned by companies to the temporary employment specialists when demand is lower and capacity utilization falls.

Bankruptcies in the retail sector leave their mark
It is hardly surprising that unemployment in the retail sector is on the rise. Insolvencies of well-known brands, such as Esprit recently, show that even established companies are experiencing difficulties. As branches are often closed in the course of insolvency, jobs are also often lost, as competitors are not always able to take on the vacant employees on a one-to-one basis.

What is the situation in the individual labor market districts? Eferding (up 25.6%), Grieskirchen (up 23.7%) and Braunau (up 23.4%) recorded the strongest growth compared to July 2023.