Austria’s economy not improving

Austria Briefs: Sep. 2012

The overall outlook for Austria’s economy is pessimistic, at least for the remainder of 2012, according to analysts at Bank Austria. The economy showed negative growth of 0.1% for July, for the first time this year.

Analysts see the trend largely as a spill-over from the recession in several major EU countries. An early resolution to the ongoing Euro-crisis could have a stabilising effect and encourage increased economic activity, the report said. Nevertheless, Austria’s GDP is projected to grow in 2013 by 1.5%.

As a consequence, Austria’s unemployment figures have also gone up to 7.1% for the month of July. By the end of the year 2012, it is expected that an additional 17,000 people will be out of work.