Heading Into Recession

  • Ewald Walterskirchen

The Austrian economy barely expanded quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of 2008 (+0.1 percent), but unlike Germany's is not yet in a recession. However, sharply falling order book levels and business expectations suggest that economic activity will weaken further in the coming months. This assessment is supported by current labour market developments: unemployment rose slightly in November, the number of job vacancies dropped sharply.