And this system of being easy to fire people hasn't exactly resulted in an explosive and dynamic jobs market they were hoping for, most likely due to the bureaucracy and high taxes, keeping foreign investment away. Germany has stricter employment laws with better employee protection yet a better jobs market than Austria with higher wages.
*: every 1st or 15th of the month is common
[0]: https://www.usp.gv.at/en/mitarbeiter/beendigung-arbeitsverha...
[1]: https://www.usp.gv.at/en/mitarbeiter/beendigung-arbeitsverha...
[2]: https://www.wko.at/service/arbeitsrecht-sozialrecht/Anspruch...
Yes, that's what I meant by being fired, with notice. You thought I meant being fired without notice which is uncommon anywhere in Europe unless the employee did something illegal.
The fact that in Austria your employer can terminate your employment contract anytime with a notice period, and for no reason, is very rare in Europe as it makes employees super vulnerable to loosing their jobs anytime.
In most EU countries, with better employee protections, employers need valid reason and proof to terminate your contract with notice, otherwise they can get sued for wrongful termination and have to pay penalties.
Also, in Austria you can even get fired (with notice) while you're on sick leave, which is pretty barbaric by EU standards.
You can have your cake and eat it too. It's called the Danish model, although Denmark itself has an imperfect implementation of the model.
In the Danish model, it's easy to fire people, but the social safety net ensures that the employee doesn't get screwed if it happens. They don't lose their health insurance, EI is generous enough that it has minimal impact on their lifestyle, etc.