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23
Management report
Austrian economic trends
In 2012, the Austrian economy performed relatively well by overall
European standards. The current forecast is for growth of 0.5 per
cent, as compared with contraction of 0.5 per cent for Europe as
a whole. No acceleration of the Austrian growth rate is expected
during 2013, with current forecasts predicting a repeat of the 2012
figure of 0.5 per cent in the face of continuing recession across the
eurozone. Exports remain weak, and expectations are for growth
of around 2.3 per cent for 2013, after +1.7 per cent in 2012.
In the face of these gloomy prognostications Austrian companies
have been scaling back their investment plans, as reflected in
forecasts for +1.2 per cent in 2012 followed by +0.8 per cent for
2013.
Despite the encouraging state of the Austrian labour market, pri-
vate consumption figures appear unlikely to bolster the economy
to any significant extent. Real consumption figures show a rise of
just 0.3 per cent for 2012, and a modest 0.7 per cent increase is
expected during 2013. Although 2012 saw strong growth in em-
ployment, minimal real-terms increases in wages and salaries
dampened any rise in household incomes.
The inflation rate (HVPI) during 2012 was 2.6 per cent. The weak
global economy and falling commodity prices, as well as the fa-
vourable trend in unit labour costs, mean that inflationary pres-
sures will continue to abate during 2013.
In Tyrol too the economic situation began to deteriorate around
the middle of the year, with the business climate index falling from
around 31 per cent to around the 20 per cent mark by December
2012. However, this figure was still higher than the 17 per cent reg-
istered in December 2011. The manufacturing sector in particular
suffered due to the fall in export demand and weak order expecta-
tions for the first quarter of 2013. 27 per cent of the companies in
the manufacturing sector anticipate falling orders over the coming
months, while just nine per cent are expecting increases.
However, a stabilising factor for the Tyrolean economy is the pos-
itive sentiment in the tourism industry, as apparent from the fact
that 42 per cent of interviewed tourism companies rated their cur-
rent trading situation as good, 51.5 per cent as satisfactory and
only slightly over six per cent described it as poor. Despite this,
many tourism companies are reluctant to invest, with about one
third set to invest less during the first half of 2013 and only nine per
cent more, while 62 per cent expect their investment volumes to re-
main about the same.
All in all, the Tyrolean economy has proven pretty robust in weath-
ering the crisis. Forecast growth during 2013 is 0.5 per cent.