9.337-55/09

Vienna, 2008-03-13 - According to Statistics Austria, the number of people in employment rose in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 4 097 million. With a rise of 64 000 employed over the year the employment growth has therefore still not been affected by the worsening economic climate. The employment rate for people of working age (15 to 64 years) was 72.2% compared to 71.3% in the fourth quarter 2007. This growth was mainly due to more part-time jobs. The number of unemployed amounted to 169 000 persons thus remaining on the same low level as in the fourth quarter 2007. The unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, was 4.0 per cent as in 2007. However, young people increasingly faced difficulties to enter the labour market in the last quarter of 2008.

Compared with the third quarter 2008, the number of unemployed increased by 9 000, the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points. The number of employed persons decreased by 41 000 due to seasonal fluctuations. Both data on employment and unemployment are based on ILO definitions.

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