Economic crisis in Austria: Upper Austria draws the shorter one!

Economic crisis in Austria: Upper Austria draws the shorter one!

The Austrian economy faces enormous challenges. Current reports show that most federal states have to expect a decline in economic output in 2024. Upper Austria is particularly affected, which with a minus of 2.7 percent forms the bottom. The decline is mainly due to the international demand for demand in the key industry mechanical engineering, steel and auto parts. Carinthia and Lower Austria also record declines of 2.4 percent and 1.7 percent, while Styria remains surprisingly stable with a decrease of 0.8 percent. In contrast, with growth of 0.4 percent, Vienna has a positive development due to a strong service industry and a robust pharmaceutical industry, reports Krone .

The current economic Situation is also overshadowed by the impending 50 percent tariffs to EU imports from the USA. These tariffs could shrink the Austrian economy by 0.6 percent and endanger around 25,000 jobs. Upper Austria and Styria in particular would be severely affected because they have to expect a decline in economic output of over 1 percent and several thousand -endangered jobs. The political situation in the United States, especially Donald Trump's statements about the trade, reinforce uncertainty. Trump criticized the EU during his election campaign and complained that European cars are sold in a massive manner, while US exporters were disadvantaged, so The Standard .

Labor market in focus

The labor market in Austria also suffers from the difficult economic conditions. The nationwide unemployment rate has increased, with Upper Austria the highest increase. In Salzburg, despite an increase, the quota is lowest with 4.2 percent, while Vienna has the highest unemployment with 11.4 percent, but at the same time recorded the strongest employment plus. Forecasts indicate that unemployment will continue to increase in all federal states, with particularly high growth in Upper Austria, Styria and Salzburg. This data was published on May 14, 2025 and are available on Statista

Trade is faced with a weak demand for consumption, while construction and industry are severely affected. Despite the challenging circumstances, tourism has recorded 154.3 million records, but the value creations are negatively influenced by increasing costs. Vienna has achieved a overnight increase of nine percent here.

The forecasts for 2025 draw a dark picture. While minimal growth rates for Vienna and Burgenland are expected of 0.4 percent each, the figures indicate that Upper Austria and Carinthia will continue to experience declines.