How are we today in Austria?
Between the Covid crisis and inflation: Results of a survey by Statistics Austria in November and December 2021.
The Covid-19 pandemic has left its mark. The effects of this crisis on the people in Austria are to be examined with the help of the survey “This is how we are doing today”, which is repeated every three months by Statistics Austria. The first survey as part of this project, which was co-financed by the Ministry of Social Affairs, was carried out in November and December 2021 – and thus in a period that was characterized by a lockdown, the announcement of compulsory corona vaccination and inflation that was already increasing.
The results of the survey from November and December 2021 were recently presented (Mühlböck et al. 2022). They are representative of the 16-69 year old population in Austria.
The first question asked was whether or how household income had changed over the past 12 months. Two-thirds stated that their income had either remained unchanged or even increased year-on-year. However, a third report a loss of income. We now know from many studies that the last two years after the pandemic have been distributed extremely unevenly. This is also confirmed by the results of this survey. The situation of the unemployed was particularly precarious at the end of the year. 54 percent, and thus more than half of them, state that they had a lower household income at the end of the year than at the end of 2020.
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Unsurprisingly, given their scarce income, four out of ten unemployed also reported difficulties making ends meet. That is significantly more than the Austrian average: one in seven is affected by such difficulties. For many, financial bottlenecks are reflected in the fact that invoices cannot or cannot be advanced. On average in Austria, one in fourteen people stated that they had made at least one payment in the mail order in the previous quarter. Among the unemployed, the traffic applies to a quarter! Housing costs in particular were recorded as a heavy burden. Again, there are clear differences depending on the group membership. On average in Austria, at the end of last year, housing costs represented a serious financial burden for 14 percent. In the unemployed group, the proportion was 38 percent! Another index of their precarious financial situation is that 42 percent of the unemployed expect to have difficulties paying their housing costs in the coming months: This proportion is three and a half times higher than the Austrian average (12 percent).
Signs of the enormous psychological burden of precarious income situations can be seen in the worrying findings on psychological well-being. At the end of 2021, when asked how happy, lonely or satisfied they were, the unemployed had (in some cases significantly) worse values in all areas than the average Austrian population.
A new crisis
Fortunately, the labor market situation has improved since the end of last year. On the other hand, the inflation rate has risen significantly in the meantime – and the Ukraine war has brought a new crisis into all of our lives. The pandemic is still not over, and the climate crisis is a constant threat. How are we doing now? The second survey in the “How we are doing today” series was conducted in the first quarter of 2022. Results are expected in early July. The systematic survey and verified publication of the results from this series help to depict the social situation of various groups in this country several times a year and on request. Because not only do markets react quickly and sensitively to external crises and, but also people, especially those in precarious life situations. And just as certain key figures are used as estimates for economic development, flash estimates such as the series “So geht’s uns uns hier” can provide important information on the development of the social situation in this country – an important basis for taking targeted and up-to-date political measures.
To the author
Karin Heitzmann is among others Univ.Prof. at the Institute for Social Policy and at the Research Institute Economics of Inequality / INEQ at Vienna University of Economics and Business. She acts as an adviser on the scientific advisory board of Statistics Austria’s regular survey “This is how it works for us today”.
source
Mühlböck, M., Hartleib, S., Brüngger, L. & Till, M. (2022), This is how we are doing today: the social consequences of the Corona crisis: Results of a Statistics Austria survey in the fourth quarter of 2021