The Economy in the Länder. 2nd Quarter 2014

In a weak international and national environment Austria's economy grew only slightly in the first half of 2014, with only small growth spreads at the regional level (eastern Austria +0.6 percent, southern Austria +0.9 percent). Vorarlberg (+1.9 percent) and Burgenland (+1.6 percent) still came off best, while in all other Länder growth was rather low. In spite of this gloomy business climate employment still rose in most regions (with Carinthia as an exception), but not enough to absorb considerable increases in labour supply. Unemployment therefore rose further in all regions, most notably in Vienna and Upper Austria.