Employment pacts have already been established since 1997 in four of the Austrian Provinces (Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Vienna) within the scope of the Europeans Union`s "Territorial Employment Pact" (TEP). The TEPs - as is the case with the altogether 89 employment pacts across the European Union - were supported by technical aid in bundling measures and creating an overall strategy for the region.
In the light of the favourable results from the pilot projects, the Austrian Federal government - as a pioneer in the European Union - decided in 1998 to set up and expand the all-Austrian employment alliance in order to support the implementation of the National Reform Programme (NRP) for Growth and Employment - formerly the National Action Plan (NAP) for Employment.
All Federal states welcomed this initiative of the Federal government and set up Territorial Employment Pacts. Since 2001 TEPs have been established in all nine Austrian Provinces. Additionally, some partnerships were set up on local levels (NUTS III).
Details on the history of the Austrian TEPs are available in German.