The business
Nearly 39,000 people were unemployed in Styria in December – the lowest December level in 22 years. Unemployment is low in the construction industry due to the mild climate. Only in the Liezen district are there more unemployed people.
01.02.2023 12.49
January 2, 2023 at 12:49 pm
38,800 people were registered as unemployed in December 2022. In addition, there are just over 7,000 participants in the training. This results in an unemployment rate of 6.8%. Across Austria, unemployment was at 7.4% at the end of the year – more on that at Unemployment 2022 fell further (news.ORF.at).
“We have to observe the lowest level since the year 2000, therefore 22 years ago, with this mark of unemployed. And we also see that employment is still very high. So there is also an employment record here,” said Styrian AMS head Karl-Heinz Snobe.
More unemployed due to lack of snow
Unemployment fell in almost all Styrian districts. The only exception is Liezen district, explained Snobe: “We have 2.1% more unemployed people here and that is clearly due to the lack of snow. As a result, fewer people started work in December than last year.”
Construction industry still active in winter
On the other hand, civil construction benefits from the mild climate – the works continue. As a result, unemployment in the construction sector is also historically low. “We have even more declines here compared to the year before and we also see that companies in the construction sector were really looking for additional workers during the winter,” says Snobe.
A year divided 2023
2023 will no longer be able to present historical data, said the head of the Styrian AMS. According to Snobe, unemployment will increase slightly. Even so, optimism is justified for the second half of 2023: “We also believe that, due to a lack of qualified labor and workers in general, companies will be very, very reluctant to lay off employees, that is, dismiss them. them, because we can assume that by mid-2023 at the latest, economic growth will pick up again in the long term.”