VIENNA, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Unemployment in Austria has seen a 7.5 percent year-over-year decline for March, as the number of jobless persons drops to 398,503, according to data released on Tuesday by the social affairs ministry.
In addition, the number of available jobs saw a 2.7-percent increase last month to take the total number of non-self-employed persons in the country to a record high of over 3.7 million.
Also notable was a large 17.2-percent decline in unemployment for persons aged 25 and below, while that of persons aged 50 and over fell a more modest 5.4 percent. The latter category remains a problem area however, responsible for almost one in every three unemployed persons.
In keeping with recent trends, Austrian nationals saw a significantly higher 10.5-percent decline in their unemployed than did foreigners on 5.7 percent.
The unemployment drop was observable in all states of the country, with Tyrol recording the most significant drop of 25.4 percent, while the capital Vienna saw a notably lesser six-percent decline.
Social Affairs Minister Beate Hartinger-Klein said in response to the figures that Austria is on a "good path", though there is still a discrepancy between the qualifications needed for available jobs, and those that many job seekers possess.
