Austrian Unemployment Peaked Mid-April Before Easing Started

(Bloomberg) --

Austrian unemployment peaked in mid-April with more than 588,000 out of work and eased in the last two weeks as coronavirus lockdown measures started to be lifted and state wage subsidies set in, Labor Minister Christine Aschbacher said.

More than 1.2 million jobs are now backed by state wage subsidies, a policy designed to avoid firings by paying salaries partly or fully for employees with nothing to do because of the lockdown. The budget for the support was raised to 10 billion euros ($11 billion), but Aschbacher said the pace of new applications for the subsidies is slowing down.

More numbers announced by Aschbacher in Vienna:

• Unemployment stood at 572,025 on April 27, compared with 562,522 at the end of March
• Labor office will provide weekly updates on unemployment and state wage support in future
• More than 102,000 companies filed applications for state wage support so far

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