Red alarm level: older job seekers in Austria urgently supported!

Red alarm level: older job seekers in Austria urgently supported!

In Austria, unemployment has increased worrying, especially among older workers: inside. According to a current report by the Chamber of Labor, President Renate Anderl expresses serious concerns about the continuing duration of unemployment in people aged 50 and over. Particularly alarming is the fact that two out of five unemployed people retire directly, which indicates a worrying situation. Older job seekers have significantly less chances of rapid reintegration into the labor market, which increases urgency to take suitable measures.

As part of the so -called "older employment package", the Federal Government plans to promote several measures to promote the employment of older workers: inside. A central point of this package is the 55+ campaign, which aims to fight long -term employment in older workers: to combat inside. The success of these programs will depend heavily on the provision of additional funds without affecting other funding measures of the labor market service (AMS).

long -term unemployment in focus

A deeper analysis of long -term unemployment shows that the proportion of older unemployed (55 to less than 65 years) is constant. In the years from 2001 to 2020 there were significant fluctuations in the number of older unemployed:

The proportion of older unemployed rose to 24.3% in 2022 compared to the total number of 11% in 2004. This shows that the challenges for older workers are significant: in particular the risk of remaining, i.e. the risk of staying unemployed, is significantly higher.

The demographic change and its effects

The demographic change tightens the existing problems on the job market. The labor market is opposed to an imbalance between young and older employees. There are currently 4.5 million older specialists, while only 3.2 million young specialists face. At the same time, many training positions remain vacant, which increases the pressure on professions with specialists. Above average workers in professions such as transport, logistics as well as construction and architecture will retire in the next ten years.

An important challenge is also the open positions in the health and social sector, where 145,315 jobs are vacant. Important measures to secure skilled workers demand that older workers: remain in employment for longer by creating incentives. Age -appropriate work and targeted further training offers can be crucial.

Overall, it is important that both political measures to increase the attractiveness of gainful employment in old age and an educational offensive to extract young people in dual training occupations are promoted. The need for qualified specialists will continue to increase in the coming years, and older employees could be a valuable resource here.

The challenges in front of which older job seekers face are complex and require comprehensive solutions to ensure sustainable integration into the labor market. Effective support from older employees can only be ensured by accompanying coaching measures and sufficient personnel resources at the AMS. Companies are also required to actively contribute to giving older employees access to the labor market. These are the main steps that need to be taken to improve the situation for this population group.

Further information on this topic can be found in the articles of OTS , bpb and Kofa .