COVID-19 Pandemic: Highest Employment Losses in Austria for Almost 70 Years

The measures taken by the Federal Government to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic have dramatic consequences for the labour market. Unemployment increased by almost 200,000 people within two weeks to a record level of 563,000 at the end of March. At the same time, and for the first time since February 2010, the number of employed persons declined by 186,974 to 3,589,401 (–5.0 percent) compared to March last year. The decline in employment affects albeit to a different extent all Länder and almost all sectors of the economy, in particular services, but also sub-sectors of manufacturing and construction, men more than women, younger age groups, and foreign workers more than domestic workers.