Strong Upswing Exacerbates Price Pressure and Supply Problems

The upturn in the global economy started so unexpectedly early and strongly that production is lagging behind, inventories are being cleared and supply bottlenecks are emerging. This is leading to considerable price increases, which are increasingly slowing the momentum of the upswing. In Austria, economic growth in the second quarter 2021 (+3.6 percent quarter-on-quarter) was significantly higher than the euro area average (+2.2 percent), mainly due to buoyant momentum in the hospitality sector. In the course of the summer, GDP already exceeded pre-crisis levels. Both unemployment and long-term unemployment have recently been trending downwards.