Weekly WIFO Economic Index

WWWI for GDP and its subcomponents

Based on the weekly GDP indicator (WWWI), domestic economic output in June declined by ¾ percent compared to the previous year. In the first two weeks of July, it is expected to have reached the previous year's level (May +½ percent, revised)¹.

The inflation-adjusted volume of non-cash transactions, serving as an indicator of household consumption expenditure, showed a sharper year-on-year decline in demand for goods (retail sales, two fewer trading days than in the previous year) than for services in June. As a result, private consumption is estimated to have been ¾ percent lower than in the same period of the previous year (May +2¾ percent). For the first two weeks of July, an increase of ¾ percent is expected.

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 June, investment is estimated to have fallen by 1½ percent compared to the previous year (May +¼ 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 3½ percentage point in June (May –1½ percentage points).

The number of trucks on Austria's motorways and the air freight volume at Vienna Airport declined in June compared to the previous year, while rail freight transport and passenger volumes at Vienna Airport increased. 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 1½ percent year-on-year in June (first half of July +¼ percent, May +1 percent).

In the latest release of the production indices for industry and construction by Statistics Austria, the previously preliminary figures for April were significantly revised downwards (industry –3.4 percentage points, construction –5.2 percentage points; unadjusted). This weaker starting point in the producing sector has a negative impact on the unadjusted estimate of value added in June through autoregressive terms in the estimation models. In addition, there was one fewer working day in June compared to the previous year.

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 indicates a renewed deterioration in the assessments of the current situation, with sentiment remaining in negative territory. WIFO expects economic output in the goods-producing sector to have been 3½ percent lower in June compared to the previous year (first half of July –2 percent, May –1¼ percent).

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 since April, following temporary declines at the beginning of the year. Employment also continued to fall. Compared to the previous year, value added in construction (NACE 2008, section F) is estimated to have been by 3¼ percent lower in June and by 1¾ percent lower in the first half of July (May –3 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 1¾ percent higher in June than in the same period of the previous year, following +9½ percent in April (Easter) and –4 percent in May. The estimates for these three months are each influenced by a calendar shift of public holidays compared to the previous year: in 2025, due to the late Easter date, two long weekends (Pentecost and Corpus Christi) fell in June, whereas in 2024 they occurred in May. For the first two weeks of July, value added is expected to have stagnated at the previous year's level. In the wholesale and retail trade sector (NACE 2008, section G), there were two fewer trading days in June 2025 compared to the previous year (including one Saturday). A decline in value added of 4 percent for June and 2¼ percent for the first two weeks of July is expected compared to the previous year (May +1¼ percent).

The current employment situation in the remaining market services and sentiment indicators from the WIFO-Konjunkturtest, point to a stagnation in this sector. For the remaining market services (NACE 2008, sections J to N), value added in June is estimated to have remained unchanged compared to the previous year (first half of July +¼ percent, May +½ percent). In other personal services (NACE 2008, sections R to T), based on price-adjusted non-cash payments in the entertainment sector, value added is estimated to have declined by 3½ percent in June and by 2¾ percent in the first two weeks of July compared to the previous year (May –3 percent).

¹  The inclusion of newly published and revised monthly data, which must be taken into account when estimating the WWWI, led to a revision of the WWWI. For May, notable upward revisions on the production side occurred in trade (NACE 2008, section G). Downward revisions had to be made in the construction sector (section F).

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.