Community service: numbers back to pre-Corona levels

The need for civilian service is covered at 88.2 percent, after 86.4 percent in the comparable period of 2023, according to Claudia Plakolm, State Secretary for Youth, Community Service and Digitalization. On Wednesday she presented the current figures.

“Community service is a door opener for volunteer work. One in three young boys who have completed community service have become more willing to volunteer in their community service organization or other aid organizations. “Civil service in Austria brings stability – this is also shown by the consistently positive figures in the third quarter,” says Plakolm.

Rescue services are popular

The largest and most popular area of ​​application for community service continues to be rescue services. 41 percent of civilian servants (4,158 people) were assigned to rescue services from January to September 2024. Around 25 percent complete their service in the area of ​​social and disability assistance, around twelve percent in care for the elderly and around nine percent in hospitals.

In Upper Austria, 2,049 civilian servants were deployed from January to September 2024, of which 686 were in rescue services, 631 in social and disability assistance, 348 in care for the elderly and 194 in hospitals. With 57 civilian servants, many more people work in childcare in Upper Austria than in the other federal states, with the exception of Vienna.

Most community service declarations in Upper Austria

11,538 people submitted a declaration of community service between January and September 2024. Less than last year, as positions that were suspended due to the Covid pandemic were made up in 2023. Now the numbers have leveled off or normalized again to the pre-Corona level.

Most declarations were made in Upper Austria with 21.6 percent (2,490), followed by Lower Austria (19.2 percent, 2,216) and Vienna (18.8 percent, 2,172).

Also read: “I will never forget the clients’ smiles”: Lorenz Mayrhofer is Upper Austria’s civilian servant of the year