The part-time boom in Austria is reaching proportions that are hampering economic growth: since the end of 2019, the number of full-time jobs has fallen by five percent, while the number of part-time jobs has increased by more than 15 percent.
The part-time boom in Austria has several causes, but cannot be stopped. 52 percent of all women work less than full-time; this figure stands at 13.8 percent.
“Far too many people work part-time because it yields them relatively more financially. New incentives are needed to work full-time,” says Johannes Rehulka, Secretary General of the Austrian Raiffeisen Association.
Overtime is becoming increasingly unpopular
Another problem for many companies: employees’ willingness to work overtime has reached a new low.
The discussion about more or less work has been raging for months. The fact is that on average we already work shorter hours than before Corona.
In order to give mothers and fathers who are on leave or working part-time more professional opportunities, the social partners have been calling for a significant expansion of preschool and childcare in Austria for years.
In addition, the GPA trade union is demanding a legal right to an increase in hours for part-time employees, while the Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Industrialists are pushing for full-time work to be made fiscally more attractive.
Please note: working part-time costs you a good pension
The pension insurer has now calculated the effects of part-time work on the pension provision, or the pension.
The results are shocking: if someone has only earned half of their full-time income for half of their working life, they will ultimately receive a quarter less pension, namely only 1,502 euros instead of 2,136 euros. Anyone who only works part-time all their life and earns only half of that, receives only half of their pension.
Now all years count towards the pension calculation
Since the introduction of the ‘retirement account’ in 2004, something serious has changed. Where previously only the ‘best’ working years were used to calculate the pension, they now all count.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
