Economic Momentum Weakens Further. Results of the Quarterly Survey of the WIFO-Konjunkturtest October 2019

The results of the WIFO-Konjunkturtest show a slowdown in the business cycle since mid-2018. In the manufacturing sector the majority of enterprises are sceptical concerning the economic situation. The WIFO traffic light confirms the weakening of the economic outlook among Austrian companies. Accordingly, perceived uncertainty is rising again, but the uncertainty indicator is still below the average for the last five years. Capacity utilisation in October remained high but is flattened off, particularly in manufacturing and construction. The slow weakening of the economic situation is also confirmed by the information provided by companies on the obstacles to their activities: the factor "lack of demand" is increasingly being mentioned, especially in manufacturing. The most frequently cited obstacle is still "shortage of labour".