!!!Arbeitslosigkeit

Unemployment, the absence of jobs for persons able and willing to 
work. A distinction is usually made with regard to the causes of 
unemployment, i.e. ( 1) seasonal unemployment in individual industries 
(such as construction, tourism); (2) cyclical unemployment; (3) 
structural unemployment as a consequence of changes in economic 
structure (e.g. company shutdowns, technological change); (4) 
frictional unemployment as a consequence of staff turnover in the 
labour market. In 1998 the number of unemployed persons in Austria 
came to 237,794 (annual average), which meant an unemployment rate of 
7,2 to 4.5 %. Seasonal and structural aspects are particularly 
important in Austria, which also explains the east-west differences in 
unemployment figures, which are comparatively low in the western 
provinces and high in the east.

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In the 1970s, at a time when unemployment increased rapidly in 
neighbouring countries in the wake of the economic downturn after the 
first petroleum crisis of 1973, Austrian economic policies focused on 
maintaining full employment, and it was only from 1982 onwards that 
the situation in Austria became comparable with international 
developments. Currently, Austria's unemployment rate is the third 
lowest in the European Union, after Luxembourg and the Netherlands. 
Financially, unemployed persons enjoy a measure of security owing to  
Unemployment Insurance; strategies for the fight against unemployment 
are formulated within the scope of Austria's  Labour Market Policy.

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In the 19th century, unemployment was already the cause of major 
migration and emigration movements within and out of Austria. After 
1918  First Republic jobless figures increased rapidly, reaching 
185,000 in 1919, exceeding 244,000 (11 %) in 1926 and mounting to 
an all-time high of 557,000 (21,7 % annual average) in 1933, 
including more than 100,000 individuals no longer entitled to 
unemployment relief. Despite various measures to prevent individuals 
from holding more than one job, short-time work and employment 
programmes (labour conscription, assistance to "productive" unemployed 
persons), it was impossible to reduce unemployment significantly 
(1937: 464,000), which proved one factor that contributed to the 
success of  National Socialism.

!Literature
D. Stiefel, Arbeitslosigkeit, 1979; R. Buchegger, 
Arbeitslosigkeit. Oekonomische und soziologische Perspektiven, 1990; 
C. Stelzer-Orthofer (ed.), Strategien gegen Arbeitslosigkeit, 1998.


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