Unemployment among migrants in Austria has reached a new record high. Their share of all unemployed people has risen from 34.2% to 43.2% in just six years. Syrians continue to top the statistics–their numbers have almost doubled since 2019. The rise is driven by three main factors: low educational levels, weak German language skills, and continued high immigration.
Austria’s labor market is sliding deeper into crisis, hitting hardest precisely those groups that were sold to Austrians for years as “skilled immigration.” The latest figures from the Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) for October 2025 sound another alarm: around 388,000 people are currently unemployed, 4.4% more than a year ago. Unemployment has now been rising for 31 consecutive months–and according to AMS forecasts, no turnaround is expected before mid-2026.
Syrian nationals remain the largest group, with 23,650 people registered as unemployed–nearly twice as many as in 2019. They are followed by Turkey (14,578), Romania (13,454), Serbia (11,753), and Ukraine (9,955).
A recent AMS study underscores the integration challenges, noting that among newly arrived Syrians, around three in ten still have no German language skills even after 18 months in Austria, while about half remain stuck at a basic level. Limited language proficiency significantly hampers integration, especially during an economic downturn.
Educational attainment paints an equally bleak picture. According to the Austrian Integration Fund’s labor market monitor, 48.3% of unemployed foreigners have completed only compulsory schooling. Nearly half of unemployed migrants therefore enter the labor market with minimal qualifications–a group that is among the first to be hit during a recession. As the AMS repeatedly emphasizes, individuals with low education levels, regardless of origin, are the hardest to place in stable employment.
The trend is particularly concentrated in the capital. Vienna has long been a hotspot for unemployed third-country nationals, particularly those from asylum-seeking countries. New arrivals with limited qualifications most often end up receiving minimum income support, participating in training courses, or entering AMS-run schemes.
Beyond the top five nationalities, new hotspots are emerging: unemployment among Bulgarians has risen by almost 59% since 2019, while the number of unemployed Somalis has surged by more than 80%. Even smaller migrant groups are experiencing rapid increases in joblessness. These developments make clear that rising foreign unemployment is not an isolated spike, but a long-term structural trend.
According to the AMS, the figures reflect a combination of ongoing immigration, low educational levels, weak language skills, and insufficient integration– precisely at a time when Austria is in its third year of recession. For the labor market, this means more people in the system, longer commutes to jobs, and increasing pressure on the welfare state.
