Bank Austria's new forecast: Austria's economy will grow again by 3.1 percent in 2021.
Due to the new lockdown, a slight, second recession can be expected over the winter, but an economic recovery in Austria is in sight from spring 2021. This is what the economists at Bank Austria say. They also know that the further course of the pandemic remains the dominant economic risk.
The industry is already doing better. The recovery continues there. The purchasing managers' index of Unicredit Bank Austria continues to signal production growth.
“With the beginning of spring and especially over the summer, a significant recovery in the economy can be expected in Austria as well as in most European countries,” says chief economist Stafen Bruckbauer.
The global recovery will support the rebound in Austria via the export economy. After a GDP decline of 7.5 percent in 2020, a catch-up process will follow, with growth rates of 3.1 percent in 2021 and 5.2 percent in 2022, according to Bank Austria.
The pace of upswing is slowed by the high savings rate and reluctance to invest.
The recovery will be much slower in the labor market than in the economy as a whole. According to the Bank Austria forecast, the unemployment rate will drop from 10 percent this year to 9.6 percent in 2021 and 8.7 percent in 2022.
