( dpa ) - The number of unemployed persons in Austria dropped by 32,800 or 11.9 per cent to 243,853 in February compared to the same month last year, Economy Minister Martin Bartenstein was quoted as saying by the Austrian press agency APA on Saturday.
It constituted the biggest drop in a year-on-year comparison since 1992, Barteinstein said, adding that the economy was performing fine and the the job market continued to develop above expectations.
According to Austrian jobless data, which differ from the European Union's figures due to differing calculation methods, the country's unemployment rate was 6.8 per cent compared with 7.8 per cent in February. In January 2008, unemployment was at 7.5 per cent.
The EU's Eurostat put Austria's unemployment rate at 4.2 per cent in January, the fifth-lowest in the 27-nation EU.