Salzburg’s hoteliers and restaurateurs are alarmed: In the waning Corona crisis, the shortage of employees is worsening – vacancies were already registered with the AMS at the end of July in 1979. “Many will have to adapt their business models,” says tourism expert Petra Nocker-Schwarzenbacher.
The search for personnel is unlikely to be any easier for Salzburg’s tourism professionals in August: at the end of July, exactly 1979 vacancies were registered at AMS Salzburg – with only 1272 jobseekers who were previously in the industry.
The shortage of staff has a particularly hard impact on the chefs. For every 546 advertised jobs, there are just 111 chefs registered as unemployed.
And that has consequences. Just like for the Lungau hotelier and ski school operator Otto Großegger. He cannot unlock his restaurant on Katschberg, which was opened in 2020 – he is desperately looking for eight employees for his business, “Krone” reported. “We lost 50 percent of our regular team because we couldn’t open up in winter,” reports Großegger.
His suggestion for easing the pressure on the labor market: a reduction in non-wage labor costs. This means that employees can be offered a higher wage. He also calls for stricter rules on unemployment benefits.
The tourism expert Petra Nocker-Schwarzenbacher sees it similarly – she too calls for a reduction. The shortage of staff will change the industry. “Many will have to adapt their business models,” says the expert.