The recovery in Austrian industry is consolidating
The recovery in Austrian industry is consolidating. The companies are very optimistic for both the near and the distant future. In February, Bank Austria's purchasing managers' index rose to 58.3 points, the highest value in three years. The job structure accelerated significantly.
“After the downsizing since the beginning of the pandemic, domestic industrial companies created additional jobs for the first time in January. The pace of job creation accelerated in February,” said Bank Austria economist Walter Pudschedl in a broadcast on Wednesday.
Thanks to the good order situation, industrial companies were able to significantly expand their production in February. But there was also a sharp rise in costs, with chemicals, metals, steel and plastics becoming more expensive. Because of the tough competition, the companies were unable to pass the higher purchase prices on to their customers in full, so that their earnings situation deteriorated again. “The index ratio of purchase and sales prices even points to the worst monthly earnings trend for more than ten years,” said Pudschedl.
