Despite the pandemic: the search for skilled workers has increased sharply
Vienna (OTS) – The corona pandemic is now in its third year, but there is hardly any sign of it on the labor market. On the contrary, the demand for qualified personnel actually increased in the previous year – and quite strongly. This is shown by the StepStone Specialist Atlas 2021, for which the Index market research agency evaluated job advertisements in 22 print media and 21 job exchanges throughout Austria.
“The job market is booming”
The result: In the previous year, around 466,000 jobs were advertised; this corresponds to an increase of around 35% compared to 2020.”The job market is booming
“, confirms Nikolai Dürhammer, Managing Director of StepStone Austria, the figures. “In contrast to the previous year, the lockdowns hardly slowed down the business development of Austrian companies. I now feel the skills shortage.
”
In fact, there is a lack of qualified specialists across all occupational groups: The greatest demand was for employees in technical apprenticeships, IT, finance and accounting.
The top professional groups 2021
- Technical apprenticeships and IT (around 61,000 advertised jobs each)
- Finance and accounting (around 48,000 jobs advertised)
- Sales (around 46,000 jobs advertised)
- Natural sciences (around 30,000 advertised jobs)
- Retail (around 29,000 jobs advertised)
New hires instead of downsizing
In 2021, demand increased enormously in the scientific professions as well as in marketing and advertising: compared to the previous year, more than 60% more jobs were advertised in these professional groups. Skilled workers were also desperately needed in human resources (up 55% compared to 2020) and construction (up 51%), followed closely by sales (up 49%) and hotels and catering (up 46%).
“Industries that recently imposed a hiring freeze or even cut staff now want to join the upswing – and are looking for talented candidates accordingly
“, Dürhammer comments on the development.
Biggest job growth in Vienna
A comparison of the federal states shows that the greatest growth is in Vienna: In the past year, around 144,000 jobs were advertised, half as many as in the previous year. With around 90,000 vacancies in the previous year, Upper Austria was also able to record a strong increase of 42% compared to 2020, rising from Vorarlberg (plus 35%) and Salzburg (plus 34%). Only in Burgenland were around three percent fewer jobs advertised than in 2020.
The top federal states in 2021
- Vienna (around 144,000 advertised jobs)
- Upper Austria (around 90,000 advertised jobs)
- Styria (around 55,000 advertised jobs)
- Lower Austria (around 53,000 advertised jobs)
- Salzburg (around 39,000 advertised jobs)
Conclusion: the job market is changing
“The shortage of workers is not a new phenomenon, but a trend that will continue in the coming years and for years – not least because demographic trends are flushing fewer and fewer skilled workers onto the labor market
“, follows Nikolai Dürhammer. “Instead of unemployment, unemployment will therefore be felt more and more in Austria – the corona pandemic cannot stop this development in the long term.
”
In view of the figures, employers would have to adapt to a changed market, according to the labor market expert: It is no longer companies that dictate the conditions, but employees. Dürhammer: “Nobody is queuing up in front of companies anymore, on the contrary: Employers will increasingly have to recruit talented young people – and take their needs seriously.
“
To the study
For the survey, the personnel market researchers from index Research on behalf of StepStone had job advertisements available in 22 print media and 35 job exchanges throughout Austria from January to December 2021. index Research is a service of index Internet und Mediaforschung GmbH.
About StepStone
StepStone is one of the leading international players in e-recruiting. In addition to online job portals, the portfolio includes digital services in the areas of employer branding, salary analysis and video recruiting. StepStone Austria operates the job platform www.stepstone.at
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