VIENNA (Reuters) - An influx of foreign, European workers helped keep the Austrian jobless rate high in April despite record employment, the government said on Monday as it reported another year-on-year gain in people out of work.
Labour Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer noted that nearly 3.5 million people had a job, a record high for an April, but the jobless rate by national definition rose a full percentage point from a year ago to 9.1 percent.
It fell from 9.4 percent in March for seasonal reasons. Under harmonised European Union standards, Austria's 5.6 percent jobless rate in third-lowest after Germany and Britain.
Nearly 352,000 people were registered unemployed at the end of the month, up 14.5 percent year on year as the export-dependent economy struggled to gain traction. Gross domestic product edged up 0.1 percent in the first quarter after two quarters of stagnation.
One reason joblessness is rising is that fewer people are enrolled in state training programmes. The weak economy is also taking a toll on manufacturing, construction and temporary employment jobs. Tourism and retailing are suffering.
But the biggest rise in unemployment came among foreigners, up by a quarter year on year, the ministry said.
"Primarily older workers who have lived in Austria a long time are facing increasing competitive pressure from the immigration of mainly well-qualified persons from the EU area," a ministry statement said.
On a brighter note, Hundstorfer said job vacancies edged up in April from March.
"If the economic recovery in our main trading partner, Germany, persists, Austrian companies will feel that sooner or later," the minister added, while steps to boost consumer demand via income tax cuts kick in next year.
The government, for which fighting unemployment is a top political priority, is also pushing a housing construction initiative and steps to boost employing people over 50.