Strongest Growth in Six Years. The Austrian Economy in 2017

In 2017, economic growth in Austria accelerated to 2.9 percent, reaching the highest rate in six years. The recovery was broad-based: reflecting the international upswing, Austrian exports rose, with domestic demand providing the stable underpinning for growth. In 2017, most of the largest economies performed extraordinarily well. Starting out from the emerging market economies, the upturn spread to the industrialised countries. Manufacturing in Austria profited from the surge, achieving the highest growth in value added since 2011. The construction industry similarly reported notable growth, as did trade, tourism and the services sector in general. Prices went up and the inflation rate was 2.1 percent in terms of the CPI. With the cyclical upswing, the labour market situation eased, employment grew and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent.