The measures adopted to contain the COVID-19 pandemic give rise to a recession in Austria. With a slump by 7.0 percent year-on-year, demand and output will contract even more sharply in 2020 than during the economic and financial market crisis of 2008-09. Since the trough now appears to have been passed, the recession promises to be short. Nevertheless, GDP will still not be back to its pre-crisis level by the end of the projection horizon (end of 2021).