Economic situation: no further improvement

The economic situation showed both improvements and downswings at the end of June relative to the end of May, but these developments balanced each other out. Eight of the fifteen indicators in the Business Cycle Tracer are still below their long-term average, just as at the end of May. The Tracer has not shown obvious improvements over the past three months, whereas it improved almost continuously in the preceding eighteen months.

The volume of the gross domestic product (GDP) was 2.8 percent higher in the first quarter of 2011 than in the same quarter one year previously. This is the highest growth rate in nearly three years. Taking calendar and seasonal effects into account, the economy grew by 0.9 percent in the first quarter compared to the preceding quarter.

The mood among consumers deteriorated somewhat in June. Manufacturers and providers of business services were also less optimistic.

Manufacturing output slumped to 1 percent in April. The volume of exports was nearly 5 percent up on April 2010. The volume of private sector investments grew by 4 percent. Household consumption increased by a modest 0.5 percent.

The capital market interest rate dropped 0.3 percentage points in May and stood at 3.4 percent. Selling prices in manufacturing industry were 10.4 percent higher than in May 2010. The inflation rate increased further to 2.3 percent.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment climbed to 400 thousand in May. The number of job vacancies and the number of hours worked in temp jobs increased further in the first quarter, but there were slightly fewer jobs of employees than in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Gross domestic product (GDP)

More figures can be found in dossier Business cycle.