The number of job vacancies in 2024 was significantly lower compared to 2023. In the previous year, companies reported an average of 173,800 job vacancies, which is 15.8 percent less than the year before. This marks the second consecutive year of decline. "Nevertheless, the number of job vacancies in 2024 represents the third-highest value ever recorded. The shortage of skilled and labor workers remains a bottleneck factor," said Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas.

This is also shown by the "Job Vacancy Rate," meaning the proportion of job vacancies among all available positions, which averaged four percent over the year. "By far the most workers were sought in 2024 in the trade and service sectors, with 57.5 percent of all advertised positions reported there," the statisticians calculated in a release on Thursday. Comparatively stable was the number of job vacancies in the public and social sectors. In general, it can be noted that throughout 2024, the job vacancies continuously declined.

Mostly Full-Time Positions

According to Statistics Austria, the majority of positions advertised were full-time. More than a fifth of these offered a salary of 3,100 euros or more. "As in 2023, about four out of five job vacancies were advertised as full-time positions. There was a noticeable increase in the expected gross salary. While in the previous year only 15.6 percent of vacant positions were offered with 3,100 euros or more, in 2024 it was already 21.7 percent," said Statistics Austria.

For the majority of vacant positions (41.6 percent), a compulsory school diploma was sufficient according to employers, while a vocational training certificate was desired for 29.4 percent. A completed high school diploma was required for 11.1 percent of the job vacancies, and a higher qualification for 11.5 percent. The search duration decreased slightly compared to the previous year: For 28.2 percent of the job vacancies, the search lasted longer than three months, and 29 percent were "permanently advertised," according to Statistics Austria.

(APA/Red)

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