Job Postings to the Public Employment Service Austria and the Hiring of Unemployed Persons by Austrian Companies

The recruitment behaviour of companies, in particular the reporting of vacancies to the Public Employment Service (AMS) and the hiring of unemployed persons, potentially affects business success, the employment opportunities of the unemployed and aggregate unemployment. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted into these company decisions to date. This article provides an overview of the development of job vacancies in Austria from 2008 to 2023. Due to the ongoing economic downturn, job vacancies are now declining significantly after reaching an all-time high in 2022, but are still high by historical standards. As in other OECD countries, the tension on the labour market has also increased in Austria. This trend towards greater labour shortages began in the second half of the 2010s and is continuing despite the economic turndown. Although companies are finding it increasingly difficult to fill vacancies, they are reporting more vacancies to the AMS than in previous years but are not hiring more unemployed people.