It has been reported by her labor ministry that Austria's unemployment sought a rise by 38,000 to 361,279 in December. If compared to last year, the total unemployment rate increased by 11.9%. In December, the unemployment rate came down to at 9.5%, said the ministry.

The jobless rate in Austria was the lowest in the European Union at 4.8% in October in the EU harmonized terms. A surge of 17.9% was recorded in jobs creation in health and social services whereas in the retail sector, the surge was recorded to be 15.6%.

In the history of the Second Republic, the average unemployment of 7.6% was the second highest in its history.

Herbert Buchinger, director of the Austrian Public Employment Service, said that is not likely to see a substantial decline in the next years. The euro-zone debt was survived by both Austria and its larger neighbor to the north, Germany.

The labor market has been reported to still facing the burden of the weak economic growth. According to figures, 361,279 people were registered unemployed. When compared to previous year, the rate of jobseekers increased by 11.1%.

Wifo's most recent press release about the economic performance said that the Austrian economy improved slightly in the third quarter.