Leitl: "Austria is Very Well Positioned for the Opening of the Labor Market"

"Austria is very well positioned for the opening of the labor market on 1 May. Our economy and our labor market are in excellent shape. The increase in new jobs in Austria in 2010 and the current year amounts to about 100,000 jobs, WKÖ President Christoph Leitl showed optimism on Thursday.

"Due to the free movement of workers, we expect an additional labor supply of 15,000-25,000 people; about half of this workforce will work in the region of Vienna / Lower Austria.

Timo Baas of the German Institute for Labor Market and Employment Research expects no serious impact by the opening on the labor market and the overall economy. "Austria has a good growth momentum and a flexible labor market. Therefore, the labor market effects caused by the opening will be small. Migrants and commuters will be well integrated." Migrants are relatively young and have a relatively high level of education, as is the clear conclusion from studies conducted by Baas that highlight the economic impact of labor market liberalization.

"The local population benefits in the long term from the immigration, because their incomes will rise by it." The removal of migration barriers in the context of the eastern expansion of the EU has increased the GDP of the enlarged EU, according to the analyses, by 0.2%. Baas says: “Austria gains by migrations as from 1 May a total of around € 900m."