Rapid population ageing, the growth of digital technologies including artificial intelligence, and the green transition are likely to lead to a substantial reallocation of jobs across firms, sectors and regions. These trends raise potentially important challenges for workers who may be at risk of losing their job, but also present new opportunities for career progression, better wages, and better-quality jobs. With longer lifespans, many workers may also rethink their career ambitions, including seeking new roles before retirement after years in the same job or switching to more flexible jobs that support skill development while accommodating health and caregiving needs later in their careers. Creating supportive frameworks that enable workers to navigate this transition effectively is crucial to harness the benefits of these transformative changes and to address the associated challenges.
However, many mid-to-late career workers still face substantial difficulties when seeking career or job changes. In Austria, as in other OECD countries, job mobility declines substantially among mid-career workers. Obstacles to mobility in the mid-career include lack of job search information and skills, limited access to training opportunities, and health issues. Eliminating these barriers and supporting mid-to-late career workers who need or want to change job or career is essential for supporting longer working lives and a more inclusive labour force.
This report on Austria builds on the OECD’s cross-country report Promoting Better Career Choices for Longer Working Lives published in March 2024 and is the second in a series of reports looking into the challenges, policies and practices in selected OECD countries. Other countries covered include the United Kingdom, Belgium, Czechia and the United States. The report highlights job mobility trends in Austria as workers age, identifies barriers to the labour market progression of mid-to-late career workers and develops policy recommendations to ensure that experienced workers can continue to contribute meaningfully to the economy while also enhancing their own job satisfaction and career fulfilment.