In February 2023, 121,155 Hungarians were working in Austria, an annual increase of more than 4%.Continue reading
In the span of just one month, over two thousand Hungarians have left their jobs in Austria, presenting a potentially positive situation for the Hungarian labor market, reports Világgazdaság.
The latest statistics from the Austrian social security system detailing foreign workers in Austria for March, have been released. It is crucial to note that the Austrian Social Insurance (Österreichische Sozialversicherung) only considers registered full-time employees.
The data reveals that in March 2024, a total of 997,418 foreigners were employed in the Austrian labor market, up from 994,216 in February, indicating an increase of over 3,000 within a month.
With Austria’s population hovering around 9.1 million, approximately one in nine individuals is now a non-Austrian worker. On an annual basis, the growth of the international workforce in Austria is even more remarkable, with 972,554 people registered in March 2023—an increase of 25,000 in just one year.
As reported, Austria’s ‘foreign manpower needs’ predominantly come from two main sources: Germany, with a population of 83 million (a linguistic affinity is apparent), and Hungary, with just under 10 million inhabitants. In March, Austria boasted the highest number of German workers, totaling 127,706. While this reflects a slight decline from February’s 127,938, it remains an increase from January’s 127,170. Notably, a year prior, the Austrian labor market featured 122,468 Germans in full-time employment. Following closely behind were Hungarians, with 124,158 employed in Austria last month.
This marks a significant positive impact for the Hungarian labor situation, as 126,169 Hungarian workers were employed in February (124,820 in January).
From February to March, 2,011 Hungarians left their full-time positions in Austria; however, their subsequent employment status and whereabouts remain unknown. In comparison, March 2023, saw 119,319 Hungarians employed in Austria—an increase of approximately 5,000 within a year. Moreover, a similar decrease in Hungary’s workforce occurred from February to March of the previous year (121,155 to 119,319), suggesting a cyclicality to these fluctuations.
Despite Hungary’s population being eight times smaller than Germany’s, it provides nearly equivalent job opportunities to Austrians. Additionally, between August and November last year, approximately 8,000 Hungarian nationals departed Austria. In August, 126,656 were present, dwindling to 118,930 by November’s end.
Considering the current Hungarian workforce of 124,158 in March compared to Austria’s total foreign workforce of 997,418, one in eight foreign workers in Austria is Hungarian.
This trend is not surprising, given examples of headhunting firms actively recruiting Hungarian workers for Austrian positions. For instance, the Austrian Association of Waste Management Companies recently announced a Hungarian-language training course for forklift truck operators.
Predicting future trends is challenging, but based on past experiences and the seasonal nature of Austria’s labor market, it is anticipated that the number of Hungarians working in Austria will continue to decline in the coming months. By summer, they are likely to constitute the largest foreign worker community in Austria, as previously observed.
Via Világgazdaság; Featured Image: Pixabay
