Since 2008, the ‘inclusion indicators’ and the ‘ key figures on living conditions’ have been used to monitor the development of key indicators on the living conditions of the population in Austria, in particular the risks of poverty and marginalisation. The goal is to monitor the achievement of the poverty and marginalisation targets of the Europe 2030 Strategy. Austria has committed to reducing the number of people at risk of poverty and marginalisation by 204,000 by 2030 - from 16.5% to 13.4% of the population. However, with a rate of 17.7% in 2023, Austria is increasingly moving away from this target and is now even above the initial value.

A key finding of the current analysis is the sharp increase in significant social and material deprivation: the number of people affected rose from 201,000 to 336,000 within a year, which is mainly due to the high inflation in the years 2021 to 2023. Inflation hit low-income households particularly hard. They have to spend a large proportion of their expenditure on basic necessities such as housing, energy and food - areas in which it is virtually impossible to make savings. While the highest-income households would only have needed a moderate increase in income to offset the rising costs, the poorest fifth would have needed income increases of over 27%.

Certain groups continue to be particularly affected by poverty and exclusion. This includes the unemployed, people with low labour intensity, low earners with hourly wages below two thirds of the gross median wage and young people between the ages of 16 and 29 who are neither in education nor employment (inactive young adult rate 2023: 12%). Health restrictions also significantly increase the risk of poverty: 15% of people at risk of poverty suffer from multiple health problems, more than twice as many as in the unaffected group. In addition, single parents, non-citizens and people living in council flats are particularly at risk of poverty.

Targeted social policy measures are needed to combat increasing social and material deprivation. While the welfare state has taken countermeasures with one-off payments, the abolition of cold progression and relief on electricity prices, many of these measures were temporary. In the long term, structural approaches are needed that aim to provide sustainable protection for low-income households, promote labour market integration and expand targeted social support for at-risk groups.