Press release: 12.769-067/22

Austrian labour market in 2021: gradual recovery in the course of the year

Vienna, 2022-03-17 – In the second Corona year, the pandemic and the associated measures had an impact on the Austrian labour market. While the first quarter of 2021 was strongly affected by the Corona pandemic, the Austrian labour market subsequently recovered rapidly from quarter to quarter. According to Statistics  Austria's labour force survey, a total of 4 306 000 persons aged 15 and over were on average employed in 2021 according to the new EU definition, while 283 700 were unemployed. With an annual average of 146 000 job vacancies, 2021 saw the highest level of job vacancies since the beginning of the time series in 2009. Compared to the previous quarter and in line with the fourth lockdown, home office became slightly more frequent again in the fourth quarter of 2021.

"Despite the Corona pandemic, the labour market in Austria experienced a strong upswing in 2021. Above all, the openings of the gastronomy sector in the second quarter caused employment to rise, and in the summer the employment figures recovered further due to seasonal factors. The renewed lockdown in Q4 only slightly slowed the upward trend on the labour market. In 2021, the average number of employed persons was 4.3 million; the 283 700 job seekers were offset by 146 000 vacancies, more than ever before since the start of the Job Vacancy Survey by Statistics Austria," explains Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas.

For more detailed information please refer to the German version.