Inactive Program
Aktion 20,000
A direct employment program intended to reduce long term unemployment among Austrians over 50
Download PDF (146.20 KB)The Aktion 20,000 program was a response to the long term unemployment of Austrians 50 years and older (in 2016, some 50,000 people were identified in this category) (1). The goal was to directly create 20,000 jobs for this group, improve quality of life, and interrupt the cycle of long-term unemployment. Elements of the program were continued after 2019 on a smaller scale to provide employment for long-term unemployed over 50 (2).
Employment is an important dimension of social inclusion. Long term unemployment is especially deleterious for older people.
Created in response to an unemployment crisis among citizens over 50 (3).
3,824 jobs created by the end of the program (4).
Long term unemployed over 50 years old.
Average of 472 days per participant (5).
EUR 27,000 in costs including wages and materials per job per year (6).
EUR 170 million 2018-2019 (7). Subsidized employment – 100% for two years. Shifting “passive funds” from unemployment payments to employment subsidies and an additional EUR 200 million (8).
Austria’s Public Employment Service (AMS) and existing government instruments in cooperation with municipalities (9).
Municipal, non-profit, and social enterprise employment.
Participants were unemployed for an average of almost three years before the program. 40% of participants had health related issues that made it difficult to find work and more than 90% did not receive need-based income before the Aktion 20,000 program (10).
Challenges: The program was not able to generate employment opportunities on the scale it was hoped to (11).