Unemployment ten percent lower than before CoV
business
As of January 31, 13,083 people were registered as unemployed in Salzburg: That is not only half as much as a year ago, but also ten percent less than in January 2020, before the start of the CoV pandemic. Salzburg has the lowest unemployment rate in Austria.
Compared to January 2021, the number of registered unemployed has fallen by 13,061 people, compared to January 2020 there are 1,469 fewer unemployed – these figures were counted by the Salzburg Public Employment Service (AMS) on Tuesday. Even if you include the training participants, the minus compared to January 2020 is 7.5 percent.
Unemployment rate 4.8 percent
With an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent, Salzburg is ahead of Austria – ahead of Tyrol (5.1 percent) and Vorarlberg (5.3 percent), according to the AMS. The number of unemployed fell the most in tourism compared to the previous year – no wonder given the lockdowns in January 2021. Regionally, the decline was strongest in Pongau. In January 2022, the Tennengau even had a sixth fewer unemployed than in January 2020.
Unemployment numbers are falling
At the same time, the AMS is also recording a sharp increase in vacancies: 11,330 jobs are currently being advertised for immediate filling – 160 percent more than a year ago and 85 percent more than before the coronavirus pandemic. According to the labor market service, the need for workers is particularly high in tourism, trade and economic services.
10,222 applications for seasonal start-up aid
10,222 companies across the country applied for the start-of-season aid for tourism businesses this winter – this was emphasized by the AMS after the application deadline on Monday. With this subsidy, hosts and hoteliers are reimbursed 65 percent of the gross wage and 50 percent of the ancillary wage costs if they continue to employ their employees despite the tourism lockdown in November and December.
The applications are now being processed quickly, emphasizes Jacqueline Beyer, AMS country manager: “We have already been able to successfully complete 6,170 applications without having to have additional staff. Looking ahead to the numerous applications, however, we ask for a little patience as we continue to process them.” A large proportion of the applications for starting the season came on the last day of the deadline – more on that in Start-of-the-season: last-minute rush expected (salzburg.ORF.at ; January 31, 2022).