Weekly WIFO Economic Index

WWWI for GDP and its subcomponents

Based on the weekly GDP indicator (WWWI), domestic economic output in May remained at the level of the previous year (revised)¹. Due to the seasonal shift of Easter – Holy Week and thus the Easter holidays fell in the last week of March in 2024 and in the third week of April in 2025 – a significant year-on-year increase was observed in April in the trade and tourism sectors. Contrary to expectations, the goods-producing sector and construction also performed better in April than previously estimated.

The inflation-adjusted volume of non-cash transactions, serving as an indicator of household consumption expenditure, showed a stronger year-on-year increase in May in demand for both goods (retail sales) and services. As a result, private consumption is estimated to have been 1 percent higher than in the same period of the previous year (April +3¾ percent).

The development of gross fixed capital formation is determined by estimated economic output (industrial production) and sentiment in the manufacturing sector, as measured by the WIFO-Konjunkturtest (business cycle survey). In May, investment is estimated to have risen by 1½ percent compared to the previous year (April +½ percent).

Developments in industrial production and tourism, as well as in the main components of demand and the resulting effects on foreign trade, resulted in net exports contributing negatively to GDP growth by 1 percentage point in May (April –1¾ percentage points).

The number of trucks on Austria's motorways and the number of passenger flights at Vienna Airport increased year-on-year in May, whereas rail freight transport and air freight volume at Vienna Airport declined. According to the WIFO-Konjunkturtest, companies in the transport sector continue to assess their current business situation predominantly negatively, despite some improvement. Based on this indicator situation, value added in the transport sector (NACE 2008, section H) is expected to have declined by ¾ percent year-on-year in May (April –2½ percent).

Employment in the goods-producing sector (NACE 2008, sections A to E) continued to fall due to the recession, and the increase in the number of job seekers has been in double digits year-on-year since November 2023. The WIFO-Konjunkturtest shows further improvement in both the current situation assessments and expectations for the coming months, although sentiment remains in negative territory. WIFO expects economic output in the goods-producing sector to have been 1 percent lower in May compared to the previous year (April –2¼ percent)².

Sentiment in construction is gradually improving, and some indicators have already turned positive. However, the number of registered unemployed in the construction industry rose slightly again in April and May after temporary declines at the beginning of the year. Employment also fell more sharply again in April. Value added in construction (NACE 2008, section F) is estimated to have been 2¼ percent lower in May than in the same period of the previous year (April –1½ percent).

Based on cashless transactions in the restaurant and hotel sector, as well as sentiment indicators from the WIFO-Konjunkturtest, value added in tourism (accommodation and food services, NACE 2008, section I) is estimated to have been 2½ percent lower in May than in the same period of the previous year. The sharp increase in April (+8¾ percent) can be attributed to the calendar shift of Holy Week compared to the previous year. In the wholesale and retail trade sector (NACE 2008, section G), a decline in value added of ¼ percent year-on-year is expected for May. In April (+2 percent), trade also showed a slight seasonal Easter effect compared to the previous year.

The current employment situation in the remaining market services and sentiment indicators from the WIFO-Konjunkturtest, point to a slight increase in this sector. For the remaining market services (NACE 2008, sections J to N), value added in May is estimated to have been ½ percent higher than in the previous year, while stagnating in April. Value added in other personal services (NACE 2008, sections R to T), based on price-adjusted non-cash payments in the entertainment sector, is estimated to have been 3 percent lower in May than in the previous year (April –1¼ percent).

¹ The inclusion of newly published monthly and quarterly data, which must be taken into account when estimating the WWWI, led to a revision of the WWWI. For April, notable upward revisions on the production side occurred in particular in trade (NACE 2008, section G), the goods-producing sector (sections A to E), accommodation and food service activities (section I) and the construction sector (section F).

² The WWWI estimates are modelled using unadjusted weekly and monthly data compared to the previous year. The calculations are therefore affected by ½ working day less in April and one working day more in May than in the previous year, particularly in the goods producing sector and the closely related market services and construction.

The WIFO Weekly Economic Index (WWWI) is a measure of the real economic activity of the Austrian economy on a weekly and monthly frequency. It is based on weekly, monthly and quarterly time series to estimate weekly and monthly indicators for real GDP and 18 GDP sub-aggregates (use side 8, production side 10) of the Quarterly National Accounts.

With the release for June 2022, the econometric models for the historical decompositions and for nowcasting have been converted to seasonally unadjusted time series. In addition, year-on-year growth rates are now used to estimate the models.

The WWWI estimates are (currently) updated monthly and published on the WIFO website.