At the end of May, 311,543 people were registered with the AMS as unemployed or in training, of whom 237,818 were looking for a job and 73,725 were in training with the AMS. “Compared to the end of April, this means a noticeable drop in unemployment, namely by 15,765 people. At the same time, 138,134 job vacancies were reported to the AMS at the end of May. After the record values of the past three months, this value again represents a record high for vacancies on the Austrian labor market,” Labor Minister Martin Kocher reflected on the development in the labor market in May.
The unemployment rate, or the relative share of unemployed in the labor force, was 5.7 percent at the end of May.
“Very good starting position further improved”
“This means that the unemployment rate has further improved compared to the previous month from a very good starting position. This development is due to the combination of seasonal effects and continued good economic activity in conjunction with our active labor market policies. With programs such as the Corona Job Offensive or the Springboard Program, we as a federal government always pursue the goal of reducing unemployment and getting people into work. I am therefore particularly pleased that the current figures show that the intensification of our efforts in this area has led to a positive development,” said Kocher.
A comparison with the past three years, which was partly dominated by the pandemic and the associated necessary restrictions on the economy, also shows a good development. At the end of May of the pre-crisis year 2019, 31,594 more people were registered with the AMS as unemployed or in training than at present. In the same period of 2020, when restaurants and museums just reopened, unemployment was 205,678 people higher than this year. At the end of May 2021, when the 3G rule was able to make extensive openings, there were 80,817 more than this year.
49,492 people with short-time working
At the end of May, 49,492 people were pre-registered for short-time work. “Compared to the previous month, this represents a decrease of 3,096 people in short-time working pre-registrations. This development shows that the number of short-time working pre-registrations is currently hardly affected by the economic effects of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine,” says Kocher.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
