Austria’s unemployment data showed further labor-market weakening in August 2026. The existing detailed series puts the unemployment rate at 7.2%, up 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier, with 311,448 people unemployed, 10,027 more than in August 2025. A separate latest-data update reports 311,400 unemployed people in August, up from 298,900 in July, and places the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 6.3%, compared with 6.1% in July. The figures are not directly interchangeable because they refer to different measures. Female unemployment rose 6.3% year-on-year to 151,513, while unemployment among men and other genders increased 0.7% to 159,935. Dependent employment reached an estimated 4,003,000, up 10,000 from a year earlier. Including training participants, the total of unemployed people and those in training reached 375,730, a 2.3% annual increase. Long-term unemployment rose 22.6% to 55,995. The Austrian Public Employment Service said the August data covers registered unemployed people and participants in training programs. Some of the monthly increase reflects the end of summer contracts and the entry of new graduates, but weaker hiring in manufacturing and construction has added pressure. Construction unemployment was 6% higher than a year earlier, with weaker export demand, higher energy costs and broader economic uncertainty cited as factors. Economists say the labor market remains relatively tight by historical standards, while policymakers and businesses will monitor whether the deterioration becomes persistent.