The Austrian economy grew by 6.0 percent in the second quarter of this year. Statistics Austria announced yesterday that economic output was 1.5 percent above that of the first quarter and 3.8 percent above the comparable quarter of 2019, i.e. before the corona pandemic. In the second half of the year, however, the economy is likely to weaken significantly.
Almost all sectors of the economy contributed to the growth: industry should be mentioned in particular, with growth of 5.2 percent, trade with a plus of 3.1 percent and other economic services, which also include consulting and temporary work, with 4.4 percent. The growth in the accommodation and gastronomy sector, which was still severely affected by the corona pandemic last year, was particularly striking. In the second quarter of this year, growth here was 77.2 percent compared to the previous year.
The corona pandemic is not over yet, said Tobias Thomas, Director General of Statistics Austria, but economic output is still above the pre-crisis level. “Almost all sectors have already exceeded the pre-crisis level, in some cases significantly,” said Thomas.
A completely different picture emerges when we look ahead. According to the Wifo business survey for August presented this week, the economy is losing momentum. “The entrepreneurial uncertainty remains high because of the uncertainty in the gas supply and the high energy prices,” says Wifo.
International indicators also show a less than encouraging outlook. The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index released yesterday fell 0.2 points to 49.6 points. This is the lowest level in around two years. The much-noticed economic barometer is thus below the growth threshold of 50 points. According to S&P chief economist Chris Williamson, it is becoming more and more likely that the economy in the euro zone will contract in the summer quarter.
Source: Nachrichten
