Facts and figures

How “boomers” and start-ups are relieving the job market

Craftsmen and technicians are in demand, especially, but not only in the so-called green jobs.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Canva)

This week we are looking at the Viennese labor market and unemployment as part of our election coverage. Problems cannot be denied, but "baby boomers" and many newly created jobs are helping to ensure that Vienna is not doing so badly in comparison. Taking stock. 

The figures from February 2025 sound disheartening: more than 135,000 Viennese were without a job, another 35,000 in training. In total, an increase of 7.3 percent year-on-year - the group of unemployed people rose significantly more than those taking part in training courses.

Retail, manufacturing, hotels and restaurants needed far fewer employees. Things are better in construction. The order situation is picking up again. More people are being hired, for example.

Overall, the over 50s and under 25s stand out negatively. Older people are stuck in the AMS system for too long (wrong qualifications, too expensive). Most of the young people have not completed school or an apprenticeship and/or speak poor German, which means they are not employable.

The outlook is bleak. Katharina Luger, AMS deputy head for Vienna, expects unemployment to continue to rise until the end of the year. However, the growth rate should level off.

There are also rays of hope
Vienna is strong in services, the share of industry is rather smaller - many jobs in industry in particular are currently shaky. Many employees are well to very well educated. And an astonishing number of new companies are being founded (start-ups).

943.000

people in Vienna were employed in the 3rd quarter of 2024 - the latest figures from Statistics Austria. In 2023, the figure was 914,500. The capital has seen a steady increase in employment for years.

Among other things, this is constantly setting new employment records. 943,000 people were employed in the 3rd quarter of 2024, around 45,000 more than in 2022. The number of people in employment has been rising for years, of course also because more and more people are living in Vienna.

There is another effect on the job statistics. The baby boomers born between 1955 and 1970 are gradually retiring from working life. Although this places a heavy burden on the pension system, it relieves the labor market. 

Care, green jobs and the public sector

An extremely large number of public sector employees are retiring. From the police to public utilities, the army to the municipal authorities and transport companies: recruitment programs are already running at full speed to fill the vacant positions. And there will be more.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

Experts also see great opportunities in the care sector or in so-called green jobs - from heating specialists to hydropower engineers. Anyone who is oriented in this direction and works reasonably well will practically have a permanent job in their pocket.

But was everything better in the past? Figures from the Vienna AMS up to 2015 show: In a ten-year comparison (chart above), we are not at the top, but not bad either. The curve went up due to corona, before and after that it went down. What does the future hold, keyword AI? It remains exciting.