Economic situation remains favourable

The picture of the economic situation at the end of October was about the same as the at the end of September. The heart of the indicators in the Business Cycle Tracer is still located in the high economic growth stage. All indicators in the Tracer are performing better than their long-term average.

In the second quarter, the volume of the gross domestic product (GDP) was 2.6 percent up on one year previously. This almost equalled the growth in the first quarter of this year. After adjustment for seasonal effects, GDP volume grew by 0.3 percent compared with the first quarter of 2007.This quarter-on-quarter growth is the lowest for two years.

Consumer confidence remained unchanged in October. Manufacturers remained optimistic. The number of the business service providers expecting to receive more orders and to generate a higher turnover in the fourth quarter of this year exceeds those anticipating a decrease.

Manufacturing production in August was 2 percent up on last year. The volume of exports of goods was almost 11 percent up on August 2006. Household spending was 2 percent up.

The capital market interest rate stood at 4.3 percent in September, 0.1 of a percentage point down on August. Inflation increased by 0.2 of a percentage point and averaged 1.3 percent in September. Selling prices in manufacturing industry were 5.4 percent up on September 2006. The price increase was twice as high as in August.

In the period July-September, the seasonally adjusted unemployment decreased further. In the second quarter of 2007, there were 225 thousand job vacancies and a further rise in the number of hours worked in temp jobs. In the fourth quarter of 2006, there was a further increase in the number of jobs.

Gross domestic product (GDP)