WIFO-Konjunkturtest August 2019

While the positive economic assessments of companies in the service sectors are declining slightly, economic expectations in the construction industry remain very optimistic. Economic assessments in the manufacturing sector are recovering somewhat after the sharp decline of recent months.

The index of current assessments for the economy as a whole rose by 0.5 points in August (excluding seasonal fluctuations) to a value of 12.6 points, thus remaining at a confident level. In the service industries, the index lost 2.2 points, but at 13.1 points continues to signal a good service economy. In the construction industry, the index remains stable (+0.3 points) and is still at an optimistic level with a value of 28.9 points. In the economically important manufacturing sector, the situation index is gaining ground again (+4.5 points) and is now more clearly in the positive range at 6.7 points.

The index of business expectations rose slightly in August (+0.6 points) and reached a value of 8.7 points. In the construction industry, the expectation index remains unchanged after the gains of the previous month and the index value remains in a confident range at 12.3 points. In the service sectors, on the other hand, the expectation index fell slightly (–0.4 points), but at 12.4 points remains within the range of confident economic expectations. In the manufacturing sector, the expectation index rose (+2.1 points) and returned to a positive level of 2.0 points.