Facts and Figures The Austrian Federal Civil Service 2012 Key figures Table 1 Population and labour market Inhabitants (in thousands) 8,421 Employees (in thousands) 3,574 Unemployment (source: EUROSTAT) 4.2% Source: Statistics Austria Table 2 Economy and public sector GDP (in bn. ) 300.2 Tax ratio (as percentage of GDP) 41.9% Public expenditure (as percentage of GDP) 50.5% Public sector staff and non-staff costs (as percentage of GDP) 14.0% Public sector employees (in thousands, 2010 data) 468 Source: Statistics Austria, Government Debt Committee
Public administration in Austria Public administration in Austria is carried out on three levels: the Federal level, the level of the nine Federal Provinces, and that of the 2,356 municipalities. By fulfilling their numerous tasks, the employees of these different administrative entities make a significant contribution to the smooth functioning of public life and the economy. Teachers, police officers and tax office staff are well-known examples of public servants. However, the different levels of public administration mentioned above are also responsible for providing a wide range of other services, such as welfare and family benefits, standardisation and metrology, food safety, avalanche control, patents and trade supervision. Table 3 The staff of administrative entities on different levels* Federal Level 132,357 Federal Province level 140,765 Municipality level 75,029 *Federal level: 31/12/2011, in full-time equivalents; Federal Provinces, municipalities: 2010; not including independent agencies and enterprises. Source: Federal Chancellery, Data after Stabilitätspakt, Statistics Austria Public administration at Federal level It is the Federal Ministries each of them comprising headquarters as well as subordinate agencies which are responsible for carrying out the administrative tasks of the Federation. Only 6.8 % of Federal civil servants work in the headquarters of Federal Ministries, while 92.4 % work in their numerous subordinate agencies and institutions, such as schools, courts, tax offices and police stations, where the civil service comes into contact with the citizens. Finally, 0.8 % of all Federal civil servants work for the Republic's supreme bodies, i.e. the Federal President's Office, the Parliamentary Administration, the Constitutional Court, the Administrative Court, the Ombudsman Board and the Court of Audit. In addition to these, more than 8,400 (FTE) civil servants still work for independent agencies and institutions that no longer belong to public administration as such, e. g. Statistics Austria, the Austrian Federal Museums, the Labour Market Service, and the state-owned universities.
Table 4 Number of staff in the Federal civil service Body Number of staff 31/12/2011 of which in headquarters Supreme bodies 1,087 Federal Chancellery 972 659 Ministry of the Interior 31,440 1,703 Ministry of European and International Affairs 1,212 548 Ministry of Justice 10,987 219 Ministry of Defence and Sport 22,560 958 Ministry of Finance 10,672 723 Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection 1,542 543 Ministry of Health 360 350 Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture 45,057 676 Ministry of Science and Research 733 296 Ministry of Economic Affairs, Family and Youth 2,316 898 Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology 865 605 Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management 2,554 854 Total 132,357 9,032 Occupational groups in the Federal civil service There are seven different occupational groups within the civil service at Federal level, including the five listed below, as well as nurses and school inspectors. While there are clear job profiles for most of these occupational groups, general administration officers can be involved in a wide range of different activities, which is why they are to be found in almost all offices and institutions of the civil service. In addition to administrative officers as such, there is a wide range of diverse job profiles in general administration, including those of legal experts, engineers, economists, business administration experts and psychologists, to name just a few.
Table 5 General administration number of staff (full-time equivalents, as per 31/12/2011) 45,907 average age 45.8 percentage of permanent civil servants 44.9% percentage of women 53.0% median income (median gross annual income, 2011) 32,648 Table 6 Teachers number of staff (full-time equivalents, as per 31/12/2011) 38,914 average age 46.8 percentage of permanent civil servants 32.9% percentage of women 58.2% median income (median gross annual income, 2011) 50,336 Table 7 Police number of staff (full-time equivalents, as per 31/12/2011) 30,112 average age 42.6 percentage of permanent civil servants 93.3% percentage of women 12.6% median income (median gross annual income, 2011) 47,155 Table 8 Military number of staff (full-time equivalents, as per 31/12/2011) 14,392 average age 41.2 percentage of permanent civil servants 92.3% percentage of women 1.9% median income (median gross annual income, 2011) 38,156 Table 9 Judges and public prosecutors number of staff (full-time equivalents, as per 31/12/2011) 2,480 average age 44.1 percentage of permanent civil servants 100.0% percentage of women 49.8% median income (median gross annual income, 2011) 72,137
Types of employment in the Federal civil service In terms of full-time equivalents, 58 % of Federal civil service staff are permanent civil servants appointed under public law, i. e. civil servants in the narrower sense of the term. In addition to these, however, there are also so-called contractual staff, who are employed under private-law contracts and represent approximately 42 % of the entire civil service at Federal level. The proportion of permanent civil servants has been decreasing over the last few years, due to a restrictive policy on awarding permanent tenure. Table 10 Federal civil servants by type of employment Contractual staff 42% Permanent civil servants 58% Age structure of the Federal civil service In 2011 the average age of civil servants was 45.0 years (2010: 44.8). The continuous rise in the average age is mainly due to a restrictive recruitment policy. Furthermore, staff today tend to be more highly qualified, and therefore also older, upon recruitment.
Table 11 Age groups 1995 and 2011 Age group 1995 2011 29 and younger 17.1% 10.5% 30 39 33.4% 18.7% 40-49 27.3% 34.6% 50 and older 22.2% 36.0% Part-time employment in the Federal civil service In 2011 the proportion of part-time employees was 16.8 %. Among permanent civil servants and contractual staff alike, women made more use of this opportunity than men.
Table 12 Part-time employment in the Federal civil service Sex Full time Part time Men 94.3% 5.7% Women 67.0% 33.0% Qualification levels of Federal civil service staff The proportion of highly qualified staff has traditionally been high in the Federal civil service. The recent process of re-focussing on the core tasks of public administration has led to operative entities being hived off and given independent status, as well as certain services being outsourced to private providers. This has caused the percentage of university graduates and those having completed their upper secondary education to rise even further, to 48.5 %. By comparison, in the private sector the proportion is only 29.8 %. Table 13 University graduates and staff having completed upper secondary education 2011 Sex Federal civil service or Private sector in % Men Federal civil service 40.1% Women Federal civil service 62.3% Men Private sector 27.0% Women Private sector 32.9% Pre-service and in-service training Depending on one's occupational group and specific post, working in the civil service can require comprehensive know-how. All new recruits therefore undergo an internal basic training programme. In addition to basic in-service training, various types of internship are also available within the civil service. Of these, some are required for subsequent public employment (e. g. teaching practice for future teachers), while others, such as public administration internships, or court practice for law graduates, provide skills that are also in demand in the private sector. Furthermore, the Federal civil service is currently training approximately 1,350 apprentices, making it one of the largest providers of apprenticeship training in the country. In addition to these, another 2,400 or so apprentices are being trained in various independent agencies and enterprises owned by the state.
Women and men in the Federal civil service The proportion of women in the entire Federal civil service is 40.6 %. This percentage has been rising for several years, including in particular those areas in which women have been underrepresented (e. g. the police and the military). The diagram below provides an overview of the distribution of women and men in the various Ministries. Austria-wide, the proportion of women among all employees is 47.6%, a level which is surpassed by 9 of the 13 Federal Ministries. However, in two of these, namely the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence, the percentage is markedly lower than the Austrian average. This is because a large number of these Ministries staff belong to the occupational groups of the police and the military, where women have historically been underrepresented.
Table 14 Women and men in Federal Ministries Federal Ministries Men Women Federal Chancellery 38.7% 61.3% Ministry of the Interior 79.6% 20.4% Ministry of European and International Affairs 51.9% 48.1% Ministry of Justice 49.8% 51.2% Ministry of Defence and Sports 88.5% 11.5% Ministry of Finance 52.4% 47.6% Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection 41.2% 58.8% Ministry of Health 39.9% 60.1% Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture 39.8% 60.2% Ministry of Science and Research 42.4% 57.6% Ministry of Economic Affairs, Family and Youth 60.4% 39.6% Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology 56.5% 43.5% Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management 52.2% 47.8% Imprint: Media Owner and Publisher: The Federal Chancellery, Section III/7/a HR-Controlling Editing: Melanie Strantz Layout: BKA ARGE Grafik Printing: Digitalprintcenter BM.I Partial reproduction authorised subject to acknowledgement of source. All other rights reserved. Vienna, 2012 Federal Chancellery of Austria Angelika Flatz General Director III Public Service and Administrative Innovation Hohenstaufengasse 3 1010 Wien Contact Melanie Strantz Federal Chancellery of Austria Section III/7/a HR-Controlling Tel.: +43 1 531 15-207370 E-Mail: melanie-anne.strantz@bka.gv.at