This weekend marks the Austrian national day. What’s the working life situation in the country?

News - 25 October 2019 16:45

Almost half of Austrian women work part-time to provide informal care

Austria has one of the highest female part-time rates in the EU. This is linked largely to a heavy reliance on informal care where 80% of those in need of long-term care are being cared for informally by a family member. The high level of part-time work (47.9% of women compared to just 8.1% of men) has significant consequences for women’s pension entitlements and the extent of Austria’s gender pay gap. In Austria, women are receiving 43% less pension than men, and the overall gender pay gap is 19.9% – the fifth largest recorded across the EU.

Although the availability of childcare has been improving and policies to encourage more men to engage in caring duties have been implemented, the rate of part-time work has continued to grow – increasing by 2.5% in the last five years to reach 28.2% of total employment. Furthermore, in light of an ageing population, Eurofound’s new flagship report recommends that greater investment in formal long-term care in the community is needed to reduce the reliance on informal care and therefore allow greater female participation in the labour market.

Austria reports some of the highest perceived quality of life standards across the EU with public services all rated well above EU averages. Both life satisfaction and happiness have increased over the last decade, and self-reported health has continually improved. The economic situation is generally positive, with GDP rising by 2.7% in 2018. Despite concerns of economic downturn during 2019, the unemployment rate remains low, falling from 6.0% in 2016 to 4.5% in August 2019. Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Survey shows that only 15% of people in Austria report difficulties dealing with important problems – making Austria the best ranking EU country in this regard.

Eurofound has been monitoring and reporting on living and working conditions in Austria, in comparison to other EU Member States, since before accession to the EU in 1995. Overall, Austria has a comparatively high quality of life and the perceived quality of public services is well above the EU average. However, there are challenges on the horizon as Austria has one of the more substantial gender pay gaps in the EU, which may further grow as Austria’s population ages and the need for long-term care increases.

More information:

Read more about living and working conditions by visiting our country profile for Austria
European Quality of life Survey 2016 – Data visualisation
Download Eurofound’s flagship report Challenges and prospects in the EU: Quality of life and public services

Topics

James Higgins

Press contact Communication Officer jhi@eurofound.europa.eu +353-1-204-3100

Måns Mårtensson

Press contact Media & Promotion Manager Media relations, marketing and promotion mma@eurofound.europa.eu +353-1-204 3124

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