Social Security Systems and Labour Market Performance in the EU. Microeconometric Analysis

An investigation of structural differences within the group of the economically inactive in eight countries found that people in comparable situations will find themselves in different positions with regard to gainful employment depending on the underlying social security system. In Austria, unemployment as a form of non-work is of relatively little importance while economic inactivity is of greater relevance. The individual risk of staying away from the labour market due to illness or incapacity to work rather than be unemployed is lower than in most other countries, yet non-workers suffer a greater risk of being economically inactive rather than unemployed, due to retirement, care obligations and other reasons. For Austria, the finding underlines the importance of indicators – apart from employment and unemployment rates – such as scope and structure of inactivity for an assessment of its labour market performance.