Ten million immigrants sounded terrifying, but spread over five years, it amounted to only two million immigrants a year.
Given Austria's current population base, calculated at a growth rate of two percent, the homeland alone added more than 1.7 million people annually—in reality, probably even more.
In an age without any entertainment, the public remained keen on making babies. Coupled with the Vienna Government's childbirth subsidies, Austria's population growth rate had consistently ranked among the highest in the world.
The total population of the homeland had not decreased by much, but the impact would still be significant. This was precisely the threshold of the Second Industrial Revolution; emerging industries were continuously expanding, and their demand for labor was steadily rising as well.
Demand for labor was increasing while the supply was shrinking. The balance of supply and demand in the labor market had shifted, and rising labor costs were inevitable.
Compared with traditional industries, the greatest characteristic of emerging industries was their vitality. During periods of rapid development, businesses enjoyed higher profits and could naturally afford higher wages.
Against this backdrop, if traditional enterprises did not want to be eliminated by the market, technological innovation was imperative.
In fact, much new production equipment had appeared long ago, yet some capitalists, in order to save costs, simply could not be bothered to replace their old machinery.
This was not Franz's baseless speculation; there was evidence. Some capitalists had even complained in the newspapers:
"Machinery gets upgraded so frequently these days. If you replace it today, who knows whether it will already be obsolete in a few years? The current equipment can still be used anyway. Better to wait until something better comes along, then do it all in one go."
The long-standing comfortable business environment had made capitalists conservative. Many even