Linz (OTS) –
In view of rising prices, more and more employees in Upper Austria are having difficulty meeting their housing costs. This is shown by a current special evaluation of the working climate index for Upper Austria. Over the past five years, job satisfaction in Upper Austria has generally been higher than in the other federal states. There is a need to catch up in the catering and hotel industries.
The main problem facing Upper Austrian employees, especially those who work in poorly paid industries, is inflation. On average, over the past five years, 55 percent of employees in Upper Austria said that they were getting along well with their income. In 2022 it was only 47 percent. Women and those employed in tourism and trade are the worst off with their income.
Housing is no longer affordable for many
While almost 90 percent of people who get by well with their income are able to pay rent and other housing costs on time, only 39 percent of those whose income is not sufficient are able to pay their rent and other housing costs on time. Only 13 percent of those who cannot live on their income can afford necessary repairs to their house or apartment. They also strongly feel that their housing is poor value for money and that there is less social housing available in their area.
„In order to combat the effects of inflation, a price cap for energy, a real rent brake with a maximum permitted indexation of two percent per year for all rents and an 800 euro housing bonus are needed
“, says AK President Andreas Stangl.
Pension won’t be enough
The financial situation in retirement becomes even more precarious. Only 35 percent of those currently actively employed believe that they will be able to live well on their pension in the future. Two thirds say their pension will be barely sufficient or not at all sufficient. Here too, there are clear differences between the genders: 40 percent of men, but only 29 percent of women, believe that they will get along well with their pension. Employees in health and social services, tourism and retail are particularly skeptical.
Higher job satisfaction than in the rest of Austria
Based on 4,000 interviews per year, the working climate index is the most important measure of job satisfaction among employees throughout Austria. Over the past five years, Upper Austrian employees have mostly been more satisfied with their work than employees in the other federal states. As a result of the corona pandemic and high inflation, job satisfaction fell sharply across Austria in 2022. In 2023 it recovered again, more strongly in Upper Austria than in the other federal states.
Upper Austrians are particularly optimistic about their own chances on the job market. While 67 percent of Upper Austrian employees say they would easily find a new job if they lost their current job, only 58 percent believe this in the remaining federal states.
Upper Austrian employees are most satisfied in public administration and education, while employees in the tourism and catering industry are least satisfied. Employees in gastronomy and tourism rate the company’s image, social benefits, time management, physical stress, their career opportunities and the health conditions in their job particularly poorly. “The upheavals in the catering and hotel industries also include violations of labor law: Although only four percent of employees in Upper Austria work in the catering industry, twelve percent of all legal cases in the AK Upper Austria concern employees from this industry
“, says President Stangl. In order for the industry to find staff again, a lot has to change, says Stangl: better pay and better, healthy and fair working conditions or the withdrawal and redesign of the legal changes in the Working Hours Act and the Work Rest Act that took place in 2018.
All information about the working climate index, which is collected by SORA and IFES on behalf of the AK Upper Austria, can be found at ooe.arbeiterkammer.at/arbeitsklima
Questions & Contact:
Chamber of Labor Upper Austria – Communication
Mag. Dominik Bittendorfer
+43 (0)664-82 37 978
dominik.bittendorfer@akooe.at
ooe.arbeiterkammer.at