Second COVID-19 Lockdown Dampens Economic Performance. Business Cycle Report of December 2020

As measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic were relaxed in the third quarter, the global economy recovered. However, the negative correlation between lockdown intensity and economic growth weakened. Rather, the extent of the previous economic slump proved to be a good indicator of the strength of the rebound. In Austria, the rebound was even more pronounced than expected, with commerce in particular recovering rapidly. Both internationally and in Austria, manufacturing industry was less affected by the second lockdown than by the first. However, business sentiment deteriorated in November, and unemployment increased.