Austrian Economic News and Analysis

Read the latest headlines about Austria's economy, including news on inflation, growth domestic product (GDP), nation's debt and labor market

Too Little Competition for Energy and Pharmaceuticals

According to the Austrian institute of economic research (WIFO), electricity, energy and pharmaceuticals are too expensive.

January 2, 2012

Slight Decrease in Unemployment

In December 2011, the Austrian unemployment rate was 8.2%, which is slightly below the previous year´s level.

January 2, 2012

Austrian Government Debt Stands at € 214bn

Austrian government debt in relation to GDP declined slightly to 71.6%. Social insurance carriers reduced their debt by 49.5%.

December 30, 2011

Opposing Production Trends in Industry and Construction in September 2011

Total turnover went up by 9.5% year-on-year and reached € 23.0bn. Employment figures increased by 1.8%.

December 30, 2011

Construction Output Up by 1.4% from January to September

Construction of buildings increased by 7.8% while output in civil engineering declined by 6.5%. Volume of orders was up by 8.1%.

December 30, 2011

Austrians to Reduce Spending in 2012

Most people want to cut back on food and beverages, consumer electronics and holidays.

December 29, 2011

Austrians Want to Save More

According to a survey by ING International Study, 26% of the interviewed persons want to save more money. Optimism is decreasing.

December 28, 2011

Critics for FMA and Central Bank

Michael Ikrath, general secretary from Austrian Sparkassen, criticizes the Financial Market Authority and the Central Bank for equity requirements imposed on domestic banks.

December 28, 2011

40% of Austrian Employees Work In Spite of Illness

The feared loss of the job is one of the most important reasons, says a survey by the Chamber of Labor.

December 27, 2011

Austrian SME Become More Cautious

Due to the weak economy, the euro-crisis, the decrease in public expenses and equity requirements, small and medium-sized enterprises are more reluctant for investments.

December 27, 2011

Austrian Government Wants to Save € 10bn

The coalition partners agreed to cut expenses by € 2.0bn per year until 2016. Details were not published.

December 27, 2011

Production Index Up by 3.0% in October

Production index in October 2011: +3.0% compared to October 2010, -0.3% against September 2011.

December 23, 2011

Moody’s Keeps Austria’s AAA

The rating agency points to Austria’s economic strength and attempts to introduce a balanced budget requirement in the constitution.

December 23, 2011

OeNB Sees No Signs for Credit Crunch

The Austrian Central Bank reports a stable development of new lending. The volume of new corporate and private loans is growing at 2% each.

December 21, 2011

Crisis Reaches Austria’s Real Economy in 2012

Economic growth will collapse next year, investment activities and consumption will suffer from the crisis. A recovery is expected for 2013.

December 21, 2011

Business Insolvencies Declining

In spite of the economic cool-down, private as well as business insolvencies were going down in 2011.

December 20, 2011

Increase of Agricultural Income

First estimates of the Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA) compiled by Statistics Austria show an average increase of the income related to agricultural activities.

December 20, 2011

Substantial Gender Difference in Full-Time Employment

In Austria, 4.03 million employees counted for 3.54 million full-time equivalents in 2010. The gender gap is significant.

December 20, 2011

Felderer Expects Structural Changes

The head of the public debt committee, Bernhard Felderer says that new taxes are inevitable.

December 20, 2011

Fekter Pushes for Further Austerity Measures

The Austrian Minister of Finance, Maria Fekter (ÖVP), announced that the planned austerity measures will not be sufficient. The coalition partner SPÖ is upset.

December 19, 2011

Austrian Poverty Rate Unchanged

EU-SILC 2010: No increase of the at-risk-of-poverty rate due to the economic crisis; declining living conditions for the poor in a long-term perspective.

December 17, 2011

S&P: Austria Faces Recession

The rating agency forecasts shrinking economic output for countries with large exports.

December 17, 2011

Stagnation Expected for Austria

The Austrian economy is weakening steadily into the New Year. The Bank Austria Business Indicator continued to decline in November turning slightly negative as in the previous month.

December 17, 2011

Austrian Unemployment Fell Significantly

The Austrian labor market records more employees. The number of unemployed decreased, vacancies were going down in the third quarter of 2011.

December 17, 2011

OeNB: Developments in the Sovereign Debt Crisis Will Be Crucial for Financial Stability

The Austrian National Bank (OeNB) presented the 22nd Financial Stability Report.

December 16, 2011

Austrian Companies Have € 8.5bn Cash on Hand

ATX and Prime Market companies‘ money holdings amounted to € 8.5bn in Q2 2011. Investments totaled € 1.5bn.

December 15, 2011

Rising Number of Private Insolvencies

Mobile phone and car expenses are causing most private insolvencies in Austria.

December 15, 2011

Inflation Rate Climbs Back to 3.6%

Consumer price inflation went up again in November 2011. Above-average price increases were registered for traffic and household energy

December 15, 2011

Lower Increase of Construction Cost in November

Construction cost in November 2011: +1.6% against 2010, -0.2% compared to October 2011.

December 15, 2011

Tax Returns Take 170 Hours

In order to settle their tax duties, Austrian companies have to take much time compared to other EU members.

December 13, 2011

Austria Fifth Richest Country in EU

GDP per capita in the Member States ranged from 44% to 271% of the EU27 average in 2010. Austria´s figure amounts to 126%.

December 13, 2011

Debt Brake: Government Tries Again

In order to install the „debt brake“ into the constitution, the Austrian government tries again to persuade the opposition parties.

December 12, 2011

Mitterlehner Pushes for more Venture Capital

The Austrian Minister of Economics, Reinhold Mitterlehner wants to increase efficiency and reduce redundancies in economic subsidies.

December 10, 2011

Austria´s Industry Supports Croatia´s EU Accession

The Austrian Chamber of Commerce sees a huge interest of the domestic economy in Croatia´s EU accession. In 2010, Austria was the largest investor.

December 10, 2011

Lack in Know-How for Investments

For 91% of the Austrians the topics investments and finance are too complex. A lack in transparency is obviously the problem.

December 9, 2011

Only 0.3% GDP Growth in Third Quarter

The Austrian GDP stagnates, which is due to decrease in domestic consumption. The only positive impetus comes from the export industry.

December 9, 2011

Nowotny Attacks EBA

The Governor of the Austrian Central Bank (OeNB), Ewald Nowotny, criticizes the high speed which EBA requires from banks to build up equity capital.

December 9, 2011

Austria Considers to Employ South Europeans

Especially the tourism and the construction industries are ready to take on high-skilled workers from Spain, Greece or Portugal.

December 8, 2011

Austrian „Debt Brake“ Resolved

Due to the lack in approval by the opposition parties, the „debt brake“ will only be resolved as a simple act.

December 8, 2011

Rating Agencies Are Seen As Threat

The governor of the Austrian Central Bank, Ewald Nowotny, attacks S&P. For the head of the economic research institute IHS, Bernhard Felderer, the negative outlook must be seen as a warning signal.

December 7, 2011

Economic Stability: Austria Occupies Top Rank

According to a study by Allianz, Austria has the third rank among the EU countries.

December 7, 2011

Unchanged Upward Trend for Wholesale Prices

The Austrian wholesale price index in November 2011 was up by 5.5% against November 2010.

December 7, 2011

Rising Finance Requirements Due to Increase in Investments

According to the Erste Bank’s forecast on savings and loans, the average financing amount in Austria amounts to € 81,800.

December 7, 2011

Austrian Foreign Trade Deficit on the Rise

From January to September 2011: imports rose by 17%, exports increased by 14%. The deficit amounts to € 6.0bn.

December 7, 2011

„Debt Brake“: Critcism Against Opposition

After the “debt brake” has failed, the President of the Chamber of Commerce Christoph Leitl, Finance Minister Fekter and the Federal President Fischer criticize the three opposition parties.

December 6, 2011

Women´s Income Below Men

In Austria, the annual income of women is still considerably below men. However, this is mainly due to part time work. Male employees in private sector are top earners.

December 6, 2011

Increasing Gap in Incomes

Although Austria´s Gini coefficient is relatively low, the gap between high and low incomes becomes larger.

December 6, 2011

S&P: Negative Outlook for Austria

The rating agency Standard & Poor´s gives a negative outlook to all triple-A countries in the EU.

December 6, 2011

Only Small Increase in Exports in 2012

After a substantial growth in 2011, OECD expects only a slight rise in Austrian exports.

December 6, 2011

Opposition Not Convinced: „Debt Brake“ Fails

The Austrian government´s plans to introduce a “debt brake” in the constitution has failed. The three opposition parties are against the idea.

December 5, 2011