Austria’s economy started the current year with strong growth. In the first quarter, the gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 2.5 percent in a quarterly comparison, compared to the same quarter of the previous year by as much as 8.7 percent. This was the result of the quick estimate by the economic research institute (Wifo) on Friday. The positive development in the months from January to March was supported by the service sector, industry and construction.
On the demand side, both foreign trade and investment showed positive momentum. By contrast, consumer spending by private households stagnated. The strong year-on-year increase was in comparison to a rather weak first quarter of 2021, when restrictive measures to contain the corona pandemic had weighed on the economy. Compared to the end of 2021 with the fourth lockdown, there was an increase in value added in services at the beginning of the year, albeit to a small extent, according to Wifo. In the fourth quarter of 2021, GDP shrank by 1.5 percent quarter-on-quarter.
At the beginning of the year, value added in industry rose by 4.0 percent compared to the previous quarter, while it had fallen slightly by 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter. In the construction industry there was an increase of 2.6 percent up to March. According to Wifo, Russia’s war against Ukraine had very little dampening effect here, even though the companies were very uncertain about further developments. (dpa)