Austria: Parliament unanimously votes for the extension of short-time working

m duration of short-time working from 18 to 24 months on July 1, 2009. It is the key measure of the “package for the employment market” (Arbeitsmarkt-Paket II) which all the MPs adopted on July 9, while the country will see 100,000 new jobseekers by the end of the year. The series of measures, which include many requests made by Austrian employers, also provides for wage subsidies or even a training fund for the young and unemployed agency workers. (Ref. 090724)

While the number of Austrian emp