Labour Market Inactivity and Social Security: A European Comparison

Compared to eight other European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, UK), Austria's labour market performance is better than average. In 2008, a higher-than-average share of the working-age population (15 to 64 years) had jobs and the share of the unemployed was comparatively low. However, a higher-than-average share was economically inactive. Noticably, the share, in this group of countries, of working-age persons who are economically inactive and say they are willing to work yet are not seeking a job at the moment or are not immediately available is largest in Austria, which points at a large unexploited labour pool in Austria.