Sluggish Private Consumption Holding Back the Pace of Recovery. Economic Outlook for 2014 and 2015

Leading indicators are signalling an early revival of business activity in Austria, supported mainly by the catching up of investment so far withheld and by strengthening foreign demand from key destinations like Germany and the USA. Still, the momentum of the recovery remains muted as private consumption is constrained by modest wage gains, fragile labour market conditions and fiscal retrenchment. While inflation is set to ease slightly over the projection period, the rate of unemployment will edge up further in 2014.