After a marked decline at the beginning, economic activity remained unchanged in the second lockdown week and fell again slightly in the third. Overall, the total GDP effect of the lockdown is minus 5.25 percentage points and is thus slightly lower than in the second lockdown from mid-November 2020, according to the economic research institute (Wifo). In the second lockdown in November 2020, the effect on economic output was around 6 percentage points, explained Wifo economist Josef Baumgartner to the APA.
According to preliminary calculations by Wifo, the weekly gross domestic product (GDP) in the two weeks from November 29 to December 12, 2021 was 5.7 percent or 6 percent below the pre-crisis level, an average week in 2019. Compared to the respective week of the previous year GDP in these two weeks increased by 3.4 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.
In accommodation and catering, activity decreased by 54 percentage points compared to the period without restrictive measures and was only around 17 percent of the pre-crisis level. There is a big east-west difference in tourism, said Baumgartner. While in the east of Austria city tourism in Vienna and thermal tourism are usually well booked in November, the winter season in the west mostly begins shortly before Christmas. Accordingly, tourism in the east suffered more from the lockdown.
The number of passengers at Vienna Airport continued to decline and was an average of 19 percent below the comparable period in the three lockdown weeks without any restrictions. The number of cargo flights decreased by an average of 6 percent. The temperature-adjusted electricity consumption and nitrogen dioxide emissions at measuring stations near industrial plants stagnated compared to the two previous weeks.
Cashless sales for retail and private consumption collapsed in the first week of lockdown and showed little change in the second and third weeks. Likewise, according to Google mobility indicators, personal mobility in public spaces remained largely at a low level and, on the other hand, increased in private living spaces. After private consumption expenditure had already fallen to a good 2 percent below the pre-crisis level with the beginning of the restrictions for unvaccinated people (2G rule), this decline continued in the following week with the additional exit restrictions for unvaccinated people. The lockdown for everyone led to a marked drop in consumption of almost 10 percentage points. By calendar week 49 (December 6th to 12th) the consumption gap had widened compared to the pre-crisis level to -12.5 percent.
In trade, the decline was almost 5 percentage points, in other services, which include personal services, around 19 percentage points. The new lockdown had no notable impact on goods production, the construction industry and company-related market services.
Source: Nachrichten
