From October to December, the Austrian economy contracted eight times as much as the EU average. There is no improvement in sight.
Austria is feeling the pandemic very hard economically. Statistics published on Tuesday now also show that Austria does very poorly in a European comparison. Eurostat has reported economic data for the fourth quarter.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the enormous economic consequences have become apparent in Austria, but also in the world. There was a small economic boom in Germany between the first two lockdowns. But with the third lockdown, the domestic economy collapsed again. It was clear that the lockdowns and travel restrictions would have a particularly negative impact on the economy and tourism, but the depth of the recession is now causing a negative surprise.
Eurostat reported economic data for the fourth quarter. According to those, Austria's economy is the one that slumped the most in the EU from October to December with a minus of 4.3 percent compared to the third quarter. The economic output of the EU has shrunk more than eight times less than that of Austria.
However, it should be noted that this is a flash estimate by the statistical authority and that individual country data have not yet been given. Something about the comparison can still change.
As can be seen in the table, Italy had the second worst development and came off significantly better with a minus of two percent. A few fewer countries such as Austria's neighbors Germany and the Czech Republic even recorded a minimal increase.
An improvement in the situation is not in sight. The WIFO also expects a further decline in GDP in the current quarter. But even in spite of the bad data, Finance Minister Gernot Blümel spoke at a press conference on Tuesday of a “minor economic slump”, provided the situation is compared with other countries with a strong tourism sector. “This shows that our relief measures have worked,” explained the Blümel. More here >>
