21.04.2021

Selectively Positive Development of Employment

WIFO Research Brief Analyses Situation Before Lockdown in Eastern Austria

According to a recent WIFO Research Brief by Julia Bock-Schappelwein, Ulrike Huemer and Walter Hyll, the number of actively employed persons was up by around 148,000 or 4.2 percent in March 2021 and thus significantly higher than in March of the previous year, which marked the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis and was characterised by sharp employment losses.

However, the high increases should not obscure the fact that the crisis in the labour market has not yet been overcome. On the contrary, compared to the pre-crisis level of March 2019, employment in March 2021 was 0.9 percent (or 33,779) lower.

Year-on-year, almost all industries recorded employment gains, especially construction and food services. Nonetheless, employment in the contact-intensive service sectors was well below the pre-crisis level. These include accommodation and food services, for example, but also arts, entertainment and recreation, transport and personal services. Here, a good 90,000 employment relationships were short of the March 2019 level. Employment losses among young workers and blue-collar workers also have to be made up first.