COVID-19 Pandemic: Employment Situation – Taking Stock After Half a Year of COVID-19 Pandemic

After half a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the consequences for employment are still noticeable. In September, employment loss was lower than in spring but still 1 percent compared to the previous year's level. In addition, after the peak in May with over 1.3 million registered cases of short-time work, around 300,000 employees were still registered for short-time work in September. The COVID measures negatively affected the 20- to 24-year-old workers particularly strongly, as well as blue-collar workers and, especially at the beginning of the crisis, men. Of all sectors affected by the crisis, only the construction industry reached the employment level of the previous year again. While in May in the Länder of Tyrol and Salzburg, which are characterised by winter tourism, employment had declined particularly, Vienna suffered the greatest drop in September. Burgenland was the only Land that recorded an increase in employment.