Vienna's minimum income

So many recipients come from abroad

The number of recipients of minimum income is rising.

(Bild: Roland Muehlanger)

Who benefits from the minimum benefit? After the debate about cases in which sums of several thousand euros per month are collected for refugee families, it is worth taking a look at the current figures. In fact, only a small proportion of recipients have an Austrian passport.

Within one year, the number of minimum income recipients in Vienna has risen by 6.3 percent (see chart below). The city blames the labor market for this: all 55,000 minimum income recipients who are able to work are registered with the AMS. "However, the AMS is clearly not in a position to actually find jobs for these people. Much more needs to be done here," says City Councillor for Social Affairs Peter Hacker.