Unbalanced Regional Economic Development with Two Growth Centers

Economic activity in Austria in the second quarter was quite favourable, but regionally unbalanced. The manufacturing sector continued to be the engine of growth, but other sectors also posted substantial advances. Austria's East benefited from the boom in manufacturing and energy production, while a late Easter week boosted tourism in the West. Thus, Lower Austria, Styria as well as Tyrol and Vorarlberg recorded above-average gains, while Upper Austria, Salzburg, Vienna, and above all Carinthia did not reach the overall year-on-year growth rate of 4.5 percent (excluding agriculture and forestry).