No statutory minimum wage, but collective agreements that set minimum pay for almost every job – usually paid 14 times a year. Austria has 64 nationwide shortage occupations, from nurses and doctors to engineers, IT specialists, electricians and cooks. Find out where to look for a job, how to apply in German and what to do in your first weeks.
Austria is a country of 9.2 million people in the middle of Europe with an employment rate above the EU average: 77.6% of people aged 20–64 have a job (EU: 76.1%).
The economy has been weak since 2023 and unemployment has gone up – from 4.8% in 2022 to 5.7% in 2025. That is still below the EU average of 6.0%. Youth unemployment is also lower than in the EU as a whole: 11.5% among people aged 15–24, compared with 15.2%.
As an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen you do not need a work permit – you can move, look for a job and start working on the same terms as Austrians. What you do need for most jobs is German: applications are normally written in German, unless the job ad says otherwise.
Key figures: Eurostat (population on 1 January 2026; unemployment and employment rates 2025; minimum wages July 2026); for the United Kingdom – Office for National Statistics; for Liechtenstein – national statistics. Country information: EURES – Living and working conditions, public employment services and the official government websites listed under each country. Rules, thresholds and amounts can change – check the official sources before you move. Updated: October 2026.
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