Austria's education ministry reports 12,900 applicants for 6,500 teaching positions, a 1,000 increase over last year. Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr called the trend a sign teaching has become "deutlich attraktiver" (significantly more attractive).
Vienna, May 13, 2026
Austria’s teacher shortage shows early signs of improvement as 12,900 candidates applied for 6,500 teaching positions advertised for the 2026/27 school year, according to ministry data released Wednesday. The figure marks a 1,000-application increase over the previous year’s cycle for a comparable number of vacancies.
Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr of the NEOS party cited the numbers as evidence that teaching has grown more appealing. "Damit ist der Lehrermangel immer noch nicht behoben, aber wir sehen jedenfalls eine positive Entwicklung" ("The teacher shortage is still not resolved, but we at least see positive development"), he stated in a Wednesday press release. He attributed the uptick to reforms making the profession "deutlich attraktiver" ("significantly more attractive").
Only 2.7% of advertised teaching hours lacked applicants, a one-third reduction from the previous year. The ministry highlighted that incoming teachers bring "neue, spannende Sichtweisen" ("new, exciting perspectives") to classrooms. Austria’s education system, one of the country’s largest employers, supports 128,000 teachers across roughly 6,000 schools.
Vienna faces the most acute staffing needs, with 2,100 open positions, followed by Lower and Upper Austria (900 each), Tyrol (700), Vorarlberg (500), Styria and Salzburg (400 each), and Carinthia and Burgenland (200 each). An additional 200 roles remain unfilled in central educational institutions.
Primary schools and vocational middle/higher schools (BMHS) require the most educators, each needing 1,500 new hires. Middle schools seek 1,400 teachers, while academic high schools (AHS) aim to fill 1,300 vacancies. The data reflects persistent gaps despite the improved applicant pool, particularly in urban centers and specialized training programs.
