Tyrol instead of Bavaria: – Germans simply earn more money in Austria

The Germans are coming because there are higher wages in tourism than in Germany, the head of the Labor Service (AMS), Johannes Kopf, told the German news agency. “Whether I go from East Germany to Bavaria or to Tyrol is also determined by money,” says Kopf.

Germans behind Hungary
However, he expects that not all positions can be filled in the holiday regions. According to the long-standing AMS board member, this is accompanied by a partially limited offer at some cabins and hotels.

In the last winter season, about 12,000 people from Germany found work in Austrian hotels and restaurants. Overall, Germans are no longer the largest group on the labor market.

For the first time in decades, they are just behind the Hungarians at 123,000, 126,000 of whom work in the Alpine republic, Kopf said.

“Above average immigration”
In Austria, the internationally complained about labor shortage is less pronounced, according to the AMS boss. “We have had an above-average immigration of about 500,000 people over the last ten years.”

In addition, from 2024, the age at which women retire will gradually increase from the current 60 to 65 years until 2033, just like for men. This creates 20,000 employees annually who would otherwise have disappeared from the market, Kopf told dpa. This measure, which is very welcome from a labor market policy perspective, is partly due to the fact that a decision taken decades ago on a mandatory five-year pension gap between men and women is now expiring.

No tightening
Although the unemployment rate in Austria is higher than in Germany – according to Eurostat it was 5.3 percent in Austria and 3 percent in Germany – and there are also large regional differences here, Kopf does not mind tightening the rules of reasonableness. , for example based on the German model.

The pressure on unemployed people to move to another city for a new job, for example, would have little impact. “You cannot create a will through coercion,” Kopf explained. The question must also be asked whether the German employment agencies really consistently demand a measure and, if not, actually sanction it, says Kopf.

“Men want more time for the family”
The economic downturn in Germany is also leaving its mark on Austria, according to the labor market expert, given the high export figures to the neighboring country. “If Germany does badly, Austria never does well.” However, in the long term he does not expect significant pressure on the labor market.

The gradual reduction of working hours is also a clear trend in Austria. The currently approximately four million employees work significantly fewer hours than the 3.9 million before the corona pandemic. “The main reason is men who want more time for themselves and their families,” says Kopf.