Austrian economy
| Austria | |
|---|---|
|
|
| World economic rank | 27. (nominal) (2018) |
| currency | Euro (EUR) |
| Key figures | |
|
Gross domestic product (GDP) |
$ 374.12 billion (nominal) (2015) $ 404.29 billion (PPP) (2015) |
| GDP per capita | € 38,540 (nominal) (2014) $ 44,402 (PPP) (2013) |
| GDP by economic sector |
Agriculture : 1.4% (2013) Industry : 28.2% (2013) Services : 70.3% (2013) |
| growth | 3.0% (2017) |
| inflation rate | 2.1% (2013) |
| Employed | 4.355 million (2019) |
| Employed persons by economic sector |
Agriculture : 4.6% (2013) Industry : 26% (2013) Services : 69.3% (2013) |
| Activity rate | 73.6% (2019) |
| Unemployed | 215,000 (2013) |
| Unemployment rate | 4.6% (2018M05) |
| Foreign trade | |
| export | € 137.76 billion (2015) |
| Export goods | Machines & Vehicles, Processed Goods, Chemical Products |
| Export partner |
Germany : 30.1% (2013) Italy : 6.5% (2013) United States : 5.6% (2013) |
| import | € 140.13 billion (2015) |
| Import goods | Machines & Vehicles, Processed Goods, Finished Goods |
| Import partner |
Germany : 37.5% (2013) Italy : 6.1% (2013) Switzerland : 5.2% (2013) PR China : 5.2% (2013) |
| Foreign trade balance | € -4.89 billion (2013) |
| public finances | |
| Public debt | 78.4% of GDP (2017) |
| Government revenue | 48.4% of GDP (2017) |
| Government spending | 49.1% of GDP (2017) |
| Budget balance | 0.7% of GDP (2017) |
The Austrian economy is regulated according to the principles of a social market economy . Austria has been a full member of the European Union since 1995 . In 2013, Austria was ranked 11th worldwide in terms of gross domestic product per capita , and 21st place in terms of gross national income (as of 2004). Compared with the average GDP per capita in the EU, Austria achieved an index of 127 in 2016 (EU25 = 100).
The service sector has a rounded share of 68% of total economic output , the industrial sector 30% and agriculture and forestry account for 2%. With per capita income of over 2,000 euros (2017), tourism plays an important role in Austria .
According to the global competitiveness index of the World Economic Forum , Austria ranks 21st (out of 141 countries) of the most competitive countries in the world in 2019.
history
→ Historical background: history of Austria
Early history
Trade routes
Due to the geographical location of Austria in the center of Europe, a number of important crossroads of trade routes were here already in prehistory , which on the one hand used the waterways ( Danube , March , Inn and many more) and on the other hand the Alpine passes ( Brenner , Radstädter Tauernpass, etc.). Some of these roads crossed Austria, where trade was encouraged along their route, others started here to export their own raw materials.
- The Amber Road ran through Austria on various routes from north to south.
- Salt roads
- Eisenstrasse
Extraction of raw materials
Due to the geological conditions, the area of today's Austria was already rich in prehistory in mineral resources that were mined and traded with.
- salt
Salt was also called white gold because of its importance and was a sought-after commodity. In Hallstatt , in the Upper Austrians in salt Kammergut located, evidence finds that salt mining already in the Neolithic was operated. The economic success led to the development of the Hallstatt culture that gave its name to an entire epoch .
In Hallein , in the state of salt castle was built by the Celts v to 600th BC Salt extracted in underground mining .
In Halltal degraded salt was the basis of the salt industry in Hall in Tirol since the 13th century.
- iron
Iron ore has been mined on the Erzberg in Styria since the 11th century AD . The rich supply of wood in the area in connection with the waterways necessary for rafting promoted the development of charcoal burners in the surrounding region and supplied the iron industry with the necessary coal. The Noric iron was sought after in ancient times because of its high quality. It came primarily from the Hüttenberg area .
- gold
In Gastein was gold won by the Celts in surface mining or by panning for gold. Gold was mined in the Tauern in Roman times
- water
On the one hand as an energy source for mills and on the other hand as a means of transport, the numerous waterways throughout Austria provided an important infrastructure.
- copper
In the Neolithic, copper was extracted by the Celts in the Eastern Alps; with the increasing importance of copper in the Bronze Age , economic centers emerged in the Salzach Valley near Bischofshofen in Salzburg and Tyrol
- Building material
In Sankt Margarethen in Burgenland , one of the largest known quarries of antiquity was built by the Romans. He provided them with the material they needed for their busy building activities.
Austrian monarchy until 1918
As a result of the Napoleonic Wars and the reparations payments imposed in the Peace of Schönbrunn in 1809, Austria could no longer meet its payment obligations in coins at the end of 1810. In the imperial patent of February 20, 1811 ( bankruptcy patent ), the compulsory exchange of the previously in circulation Banco notes at a ratio of 1: 5 for redemption coupons, the so-called Viennese currency , was prescribed. The inflationary development continued to increase due to the high costs of the war . New paper money anticipation notes (anticipated tax revenues) have been printed.
After the end of the wars, monetary policy was stabilized and on June 1, 1816 the Privileged Oesterreichische Nationalbank was founded , with the privilege of issuing money. As an independent stock corporation, it had, albeit slight, independence from the financial needs of the state. The currency system could be kept stable until the revolutionary year of 1848.
As a result of industrialization , the construction of an Austrian railway network began. The first line in Austria, the Austrian Northern Railway , was officially put into operation on November 23, 1837 and connected Vienna with Krakow . In the years that followed, the railway lines in Austria were greatly expanded to connect the large cities of the vast empire. For this purpose, concessions for the construction and operation were granted to private investors. At the same time, several locomotive factories were built. The first to be established in 1839 was the StEG locomotive factory . This was followed in 1842 by the Wiener Neustädter Lokomotivfabrik , which was the largest in the monarchy, and in 1869 by the Floridsdorf locomotive factory . The shortest-lived was the Mödlinger Lokomotivfabrik , which was built in 1873 and closed two years later after an economic crisis. 1880 was created by the German locomotive factory Krauss & Comp. Another locomotive factory in Austria at the Linz location.
On May 1, 1873 was World Exhibition in Vienna in the Prater of Emperor Franz Joseph I opened. More than seven million visitors were counted by October 31.
From around 1867 there was also a lot of speculation in the economy (see also Wilhelminian style ). So over the years there have been more and more bankruptcies . At the beginning of the world exhibition, people were still optimistic, but on Friday, May 8th, also known as Black Friday , the great Vienna stock market crash of 1873 broke out . On this day alone, 120 bankruptcies were recorded. The stock exchanges collapsed. The economic consequences were not as dramatic as feared. However, the belief in liberalism was badly shaken.
Around 1900, cultural life in the monarchy also reached its greatest extent. In addition to important writers and musicians, Austrians were also among the pioneers of this art in film .
Reconstruction of the economy after World War II
In 1945 the schilling replaced the Reichsmark as a means of payment. A “new” shilling was introduced as early as 1947 due to high inflation. The exchange ratio was three “old” for one “new” shilling. In 1946 a Provisional Government was formed.
On July 2, 1948, the agreement on the Marshall Plan between the USA and Austria was concluded, according to which Austria received the funds as grants (gifts) in the form of material goods. Austria was the only country that managed to get the funds of the Marshall Plan for the Soviet-occupied territories. In return, Austria had to stabilize the schilling and make the national budget as balanced as possible. The Soviet Union had the approval of the Allied Commission bought by a different exchange rate of its cash assets.
The goods received had to be sold at the domestic price. The funds obtained had to be paid into a counterpart account. Deliveries of goods continued through 1953 and were valued at approximately one billion dollars. This account was transferred to the control of the Austrian state on July 12, 1962, from which the privately run ERP fund was created.
The subsidies for Austria were the highest in Europe. There were two reasons for this: on the one hand, Austria was very weakly industrialized before the Second World War and first had to establish an industry; on the other hand, Austria, like Germany, had to pay reparations to the Soviet Union. For these two reasons, Austria was considered particularly worthy of support.
Nationalized companies
The nationalization of the basic industry in 1946 and the electricity industry in 1947 were intended to create a solid basis for an economic upswing, as there were hardly any private investors after the Second World War . The nationalization also wanted to prevent any access by the Allies to the formerly German property. Large industrial companies, such as the former Göring works - now Voestalpine - in Linz, were painstakingly rebuilt after nationalization. The further development of the Austrian economy was therefore very much shaped by state-owned companies. It is often criticized that the consequences of this policy were that these companies caused enormous deficits because many political goals, such as the containment of unemployment, were pursued on their backs. In reality, the nationalized industry generated profits for decades - until the international steel crisis , which also fell victim to a large number of private companies around the world.
The party book economy was typical for these companies . As a late aftermath of the Austrian civil war of the 1930s, the top positions between the two major parties had to be precisely divided, which was very common in the 1950s and 1960s in particular. In 1967 the ÖIAG (Österreichische Industrieholding AG) was founded, into which all state holdings were outsourced.
In the 1990s, state industry began to be privatized . For many state-owned companies, this meant that parts of them were closed, they could operate more freely and, moreover, operate profitably. Many companies were also sold abroad through privatization. This is what happened, for example, at Lenzing AG , Böhler-Uddeholm , Berndorfer Metallwarenfabrik and VA Tech . Other companies such as Österreichische Post AG , Telekom Austria and ÖBB are being prepared for full or partial privatization, which will result in many layoffs and early retirements.
Economic data
Key figures
Various macroeconomic indicators of the Austrian economy from 1980 to 2017. All GDP values are given in euros. Inflation below 2% is indicated with a green arrow.
| year | GDP (in billion euros) |
GDP per capita (in euros) |
GDP growth (real) |
Inflation rate (in percent) |
Unemployment rate (in percent) |
Public debt (in% of GDP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 76.0 | 10,076 | 2.3% | 6.3% | 1.6% | k. A. |
| 1981 | 80.9 | 10,705 | −0.1% | 6.8% | 2.2% | k. A. |
| 1982 | 86.3 | 11,477 | 1.9% | 5.4% | 3.1% | k. A. |
| 1983 | 92.5 | 12,266 | 2.8% | 3.3% | 3.7% | k. A. |
| 1984 | 97.1 | 12,875 | 0.3% | 5.7% | 3.8% | k. A. |
| 1985 | 102.4 | 13,561 | 2.2% | 3.2% | 3.6% | k. A. |
| 1986 | 107.6 | 14,240 | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3.1% | k. A. |
| 1987 | 111.7 | 14,765 | 1.7% | 1.4% | 3.8% | k. A. |
| 1988 | 119.6 | 15,789 | 1.0% | 1.9% | 2.7% | 57.5% |
| 1989 | 128.0 | 16,849 | 3.9% | 2.2% | 2.3% | 56.3% |
| 1990 | 137.5 | 17,989 | 4.3% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 55.9% |
| 1991 | 147.4 | 19.121 | 3.4% | 3.1% | 3.2% | 56.1% |
| 1992 | 155.8 | 19,972 | 2.0% | 3.4% | 3.3% | 56.0% |
| 1993 | 160.9 | 20,412 | 0.5% | 3.2% | 4.0% | 60.6% |
| 1994 | 168.9 | 21.305 | 2.4% | 2.7% | 3.9% | 63.7% |
| 1995 | 176.6 | 22,216 | 2.7% | 1.6% | 4.2% | 67.9% |
| 1996 | 182.5 | 22,935 | 2.4% | 1.8% | 4.7% | 67.8% |
| 1997 | 188.7 | 23,685 | 1.9% | 1.2% | 4.8% | 63.1% |
| 1998 | 196.3 | 24,615 | 3.6% | 0.8% | 4.7% | 68.8% |
| 1999 | 203.9 | 25,506 | 3.6% | 0.5% | 4.1% | 61.1% |
| 2000 | 213.6 | 26,662 | 3.4% | 2.0% | 3.9% | 65.7% |
| 2001 | 220.5 | 27,420 | 1.3% | 2.3% | 4.0% | 66.4% |
| 2002 | 226.7 | 28,054 | 1.7% | 4.4% | 4.4% | 67.0% |
| 2003 | 231.9 | 28,561 | 0.9% | 1.3% | 4.8% | 64.9% |
| 2004 | 242.3 | 29,665 | 2.7% | 2.0% | 5.5% | 64.8% |
| 2005 | 254.1 | 30,890 | 2.2% | 2.1% | 5.7% | 68.3% |
| 2006 | 267.8 | 32,393 | 3.5% | 1.8% | 5.2% | 67.0% |
| 2007 | 284.0 | 34,234 | 3.7% | 2.2% | 4.9% | 64.7% |
| 2008 | 293.8 | 35,301 | 1.5% | 3.2% | 4.1% | 68.4% |
| 2009 | 288.0 | 34,531 | −3.8% | 0.4% | 5.3% | 79.6% |
| 2010 | 295.9 | 35,390 | 1.8% | 1.7% | 4.8% | 82.4% |
| 2011 | 310.1 | 36,971 | 2.9% | 3.5% | 4.6% | 82.2% |
| 2012 | 318.7 | 37,816 | 0.7% | 2.6% | 4.9% | 81.6% |
| 2013 | 323.9 | 38,209 | 0.0% | 2.1% | 5.3% | 81.0% |
| 2014 | 333.1 | 38,982 | 0.8% | 1.5% | 5.6% | 83.8% |
| 2015 | 334.5 | 39,920 | 1.1% | 0.8% | 5.7% | 84.3% |
| 2016 | 353.3 | 40,424 | 1.5% | 1.0% | 6.0% | 83.7% |
| 2017 | 369.2 | 41,881 | 2.9% | 2.2% | 5.5% | 78.8% |
Mergers & Acquisitions
Companies and investors from Austria are active in mergers and acquisitions . (M&A). Since 1991, there have been over 6,900 mergers & acquisitions transactions with a total value of EUR 200 billion. In 2016, a total of more than 280 deals with a value of around EUR 8 billion were concluded. In addition, Austria is effective as an investor in cross-border transactions.
The financial sector contains the largest deals in terms of value, while the industrial sector has the largest number of deals with 19.2%.
The takeover of Bank Austria AG by Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG in 2000 represents the largest transaction to date, with a value of EUR 7.81 billion.
Wealth distribution
According to a study by the Austrian National Bank, wealth in Austria is very unevenly distributed. A tenth of households in Austria have net assets of less than EUR 1,000, and around half of households have less than EUR 76,000. More than three quarters are below the average of 265,000 euros and only a tenth of households have assets of more than around 542,000 euros.
Happy Planet Index
The Happy Planet Index was 30.5 in 2016. This puts Austria in 10th place among European countries.
Biggest company
The following tables show the largest companies registered in Austria - including subsidiaries of international companies based in Austria - both in terms of net sales and number of employees. All information includes any foreign activities that belong to the Austrian company.
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* VA Technologie was taken over by Siemens in 2005 and incorporated into Siemens Austria, but the water technology division had to be transferred (to Andritz )
Innovations
According to the Austrian Patent Office, 3,485 new patents were registered in Austria in 2009.
According to the figures, the most innovative companies in 2005 were Voestalpine with 33 new patent registrations, followed by Vaillant with 24 and AVL List with 23 new registrations.
Currencies
Until 1892, people in Austria paid with the guilder and its sub-units. Then it was replaced by the krona , which was the official currency until 1925, but was replaced by the shilling in the course of a currency reform in the years after the First World War due to high inflation .
Introduction of the euro currency
On January 1, 1999, the euro was introduced in Austria as the official currency, initially only as book money , i.e. for cashless payments . From January 1st, 2002 the euro is also the official currency, until February 28th together with the schilling, since March 1st, 2002 exclusively. At banks, exchanges have been carried out free of charge for a long time, but at the Oesterreichische Nationalbank this is still possible without a time limit.
Exchanges
The oldest Austrian stock exchange is the Vienna Stock Exchange , which was founded in 1771. This experienced its worst crisis to date with the great stock market crash (“ Gründerkrach ”) in 1873 , in which around half of the listed companies disappeared from the list. In 1877, the stock exchange moved to the Ringstrasse in Vienna in a magnificent building by Theophil Hansen . In 1869, the stock exchange for agricultural products ("Product Exchange") was the first stock exchange for the trade in agricultural goods, which has grown rapidly since the market was liberalized in 1812. The general commodity exchange was founded in 1872, but it was merged with the Vienna Stock Exchange in 1876.
Since 2010, Vienna has also been the headquarters of the CEE Stock Exchange Group , to which not only the Vienna Stock Exchange, but also the stock exchanges in Budapest , Ljubljana and Prague belong as subsidiaries .
Economic sectors
Primary sector - mining and agriculture
The primary sector describes the economic sector of raw material extraction, i.e. agriculture and mining. In 2004 this sector had a share of 1.9% of the Austrian GDP .
Agriculture and Forestry
Due to its extreme geographic location, Austria has a very small-scale agriculture, which makes it very difficult to work profitably away from the plains ( Eferdinger Becken , Vienna Basin , Marchfeld ) and makes a large number of farms dependent on subsidies. Many companies therefore rely on quality instead of quantity in order to be able to achieve a better price for their products. The organic farming in Austria has a total areal share of over 16% (2010), which means the highest density of organic farms in the EU. In the field of cultivation, the most important agricultural area is the Marchfeld near Vienna .
Wine is an important agricultural export product for Austria. The main buyer of the wine is, besides Switzerland and the USA, with two thirds Germany . In 1985, viticulture was badly affected by the wine scandal . In the meantime, however, winemakers have improved their quality wines to such an extent that significantly more wine can be exported than before the scandal.
Even small areas of tobacco have been grown for over 300 years, especially in Styria. However, through the cut in the EU's production quotas , incomes were so reduced that in 2005 the last 40 or so farmers had to give up tobacco cultivation.
Due to the large amount of forest, forestry and the wood processing industry (paper and cardboard factories, sawmills, ...) are also important factors in agriculture. Austria is the fifth largest timber exporter in the world after Canada, Russia, Sweden and Finland and ahead of Germany in sixth place. A large part of the annual 7.2 million cubic meters (as of 2004) is in the southern European region. Since more wood is currently growing back than is felled, this branch also has growth potential.
Austrian companies in Europe have a market share of around one third in the manufacture of chipboard. Although only chipboard to the value of 882 million euros (2005) is produced in Austria, Austrian manufacturers have a large number of suppliers and factories in Central and Eastern European countries . For example, of the European sales volume with chipboard, which amounts to around 13 billion euros, 2.5 billion come from the Salzburg-based Kaindl group and 1.7 billion from the Tyrolean manufacturer Egger . Around 80 percent of Austrian production is exported, mainly to Germany and Italy.
Mining
Austria has a large number of different raw materials, but due to the rock formations they are not very productive. In the country's mining sector, sand and gravel extraction is dominant with around 60 million tonnes (t) of annual production and the quarry industry with around 30 million t of annual production. 900 production sites extract mineral raw materials, of which only 4% are mining . Since the Minerals Act that came into force in 1999, only 210 of them have been under supervision by the mining authorities. Around 5,000 people are employed in the mining sector. The share of mining in GDP was 0.5% or 1.4 billion euros in 2004, which is an increase of 15% compared to 2003. This is largely due to the rise in world market prices for many raw materials.
Mining branches
- Metals and semi-metals
The only mining site for iron is the Erzberg in Styria. In contrast to large deposits with 60% iron content, the ore has only 25% iron. One of the largest deposits in the world, however, exists for tungsten near Mittersill in the Felbertal . This is why Austria ranks fourth in world production of this metal after the PR China , Russia and Canada . The ore also consists of molybdenum , which can not be used economically due to global overproduction . In Carinthia, extensive lithium deposits were found in the 1980s . But since the production costs are lower worldwide than they would be in the Koralpe , there is currently no reduction.
Other metal mining sites, such as those for lead or copper , had to be closed for economic reasons. The antimony mining sites in Burgenland have been eradicated over the past few decades. However, no recent finds were sighted.
The precious metals, especially gold , which were of great importance in Austria for centuries, are practically of no importance today.
- Non-metallic minerals
Minerals that are of great importance today are salt and gypsum . Only a small part of the salt is used as table salt, the much larger amount is required in industry. The gypsum obtained is used in the construction industry, such as plasterboard or the like.
In 1970, around 3.75 million tons of lignite were produced in Austria . This value fell to around 1.1 million t in 1996 and then rose to just under 1.5 million t in 2002, only to drop back to around 1.2 million t in 2003. With a few minor exceptions in the 1970s, Austrian coal is not exported. 83.3% (2003) of coal is used for energy and industrial consumption, and 15.7% for heating in private households in Austria.
Secondary sector - industry
The secondary sector describes the economic sector of raw material processing and material goods production. This also includes the energy and water supply sector, as well as construction. The share of the secondary sector in Austrian GDP was 28.3% in 2015.
Industrial companies
Austria has a very modern and dynamic industry. Austria now (2005) has the lowest corporate taxes in the EU and is therefore in open competition with Slovakia.
Well-known Austrian companies:
- Alpla (market leader as a bottler)
- Austria Metall AG (manufacturer of aluminum rolled products)
- Blum (leading manufacturer of furniture fittings)
- Doppelmayr / Garaventa Group (world market leader in ropeway construction)
- OMV AG , mineral oil processor and petrol station operator
- Plansee Group ( technology company primarily in space travel)
- Swarovski (glass products and artificial diamond manufacturer)
- Red Bull GmbH (producer of energy drinks)
- Wienerberger (major global brick manufacturer)
- Wolford (renowned textile company)
- AT&S (PCB manufacturer)
- Internorm (largest European window manufacturer)
- Böhler-Uddeholm (steel processing company, was nationalized)
- Voestalpine (steel processing company, was nationalized)
- VA Tech (steel processor, was taken over by Siemens in 2005)
- Rosenbauer (fire department outfitter)
- Fritz Egger GmbH & Co (wood processing)
- RHI (refractory products)
- AVL List (development of drive systems, especially for the automotive industry)
- Klausner Group (wood processing sawn wood pellets)
- Umdasch and the Doka Group are leading formwork manufacturers
- Schoeller-Bleckmann Stahlwerke , leading oil field supplier
Recently some industrial companies have been bought up by foreign investors. These include B. the manufacturer Steyr Daimler Puch and the Jenbacher works (GE Jenbacher).
The largest Austrian industrial company is the Austrian branch of the German Siemens group .
During his reign as Federal Chancellor in Austria in the 1970s, Bruno Kreisky wanted to set up his own car industry, but he was usually only laughed at. He wanted to compensate for the large trade deficit in this sector as much as possible. The only success was the General Motors engine plant in Vienna-Aspern . Although no brand-name car manufacturer has set up shop in Austria, an Autocluster Styria was formed in Graz , which made an international name for itself through the company AVL List in engine construction and Steyr-Daimler-Puch in the all-wheel drive sector. Today, the automotive supply sector not only balances itself out in Graz, but also in other regions of Austria, such as Magna International, but also in many other companies such as BMW Steyr, and even reaches surpluses. At the end of 2008 there were 170,000 employees in the automotive sector.
Energy industry
Tertiary Sector - Services
The tertiary sector , also known as the service sector, includes commercial and service companies as well as public administration. In 2004 the tertiary sector had a share of 67% of Austria's GDP .
Services make up the largest proportion of economic output in Austria. Tourism, trade and banking predominate.
Large Austrian service companies
- Spar (trade in groceries, etc.)
- Raiffeisenbank (bank cooperative with many local groups)
- Hypo-Bank (owned by the federal states, also called the state mortgage bank)
- Strabag (major construction company)
- Telekom Austria
Many Austrian companies are foreign owned. The best-known examples are the Billa grocery chain , which went to the Rewe Group , or Bank Austria Creditanstalt , which was sold to the Bayrische Hypovereinsbank . Hypo Vereinsbank sold Bank Austria to the Italian banking group Unicredit .
The largest Austrian private company offering transport and logistics services is Gebrüder Weiss GmbH.
Banking
Austria has one of the densest banking networks in Europe, although the number of bank branches and active credit institutions has been falling since 1992 . While the purpose of Austria's first banks at the beginning of the 18th century was to finance the needs of the absolutist rulers at the time, this changed particularly in the course of the industrial revolution, where banking in Austria changed to its current importance. Weakened by the two world wars, the banking system, which was largely nationalized until the beginning of the 1990s, strengthened on the one hand through privatizations and takeovers, and on the other hand through the fall of the Iron Curtain , which offered the now financially strong banks a unique opportunity for expansion, which they in contrast to most also knew how to benefit international competitors very quickly.
trade
In 2007, the food retail sector generated sales of 14.9 billion euros. In terms of sales shares, this results in the following market shares of the retail companies operating in Austria:
- 29.5% REWE ( Billa , Merkur , Penny-Markt , Emma ), 1,376 branches
- 27.6% savings , 1,438 branches
- 18.8% Hofer , 369 branches
- 6.6% Edeka ( Adeg ), 799 branches
- 5.4% ZEV Markant , 1,023 branches
- 5% plus ( target point ), 357 branches
labour market
Employees
According to figures from Statistics Austria , 3,420,788 people (3,111,743 of whom were employed) were employed in 396,288 workplaces (public service, private companies, NPOs ) across Austria as of May 15, 2001 . Compared to the 1991 survey, the number of workplaces rose by 26% (1991: 314,401) and the number of employees by 16.6% (1991: 2,933,438) .
In recent years, with the trend from full-time to part-time jobs, there has been a drastic change in the form of employment. According to WIFO calculations, around 85,000 full-time jobs were lost between 2000 and 2005, while part-time employment increased by 140,000.
Number of companies by number of employees
Most of the companies (283,018) in Austria are small businesses with up to 4 employees. 5–19 people are employed by 85,883 companies. 23,328 companies have 20–99 workers. 2,429 companies have a workforce of between 100 and 199. In 1995 there were 1610 large companies with more than 200 employees.
Employees by industry
The most important economic sectors are mentioned, with the largest subdivisions occasionally mentioned. The division is made according to economic sectors, and within these is sorted according to the number of employees.
| Primary and secondary sector (extraction of raw materials and production) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Branch | Employees | |
| Manufacture of food, beverages and tobacco | 74,734 | |
| from that | in baked goods production (excluding long-life baked goods ) | 27,599 |
| in meat processing | 17.051 | |
| in beverage production | 9,105 | |
| in milk processing | 4,396 | |
| Manufacture of metal products | 72,350 | |
| mechanical engineering | 82,838 | |
| Manufacture of furniture | 40.208 | |
| Wood processing and processing | 39,822 | |
| Production and processing of glass and goods made from stone and earth | 39,280 | |
| from that | in the production of concrete, cement and plaster | 13,867 |
| in glass production and processing | 10,609 | |
| in ceramic production | 3,504 | |
| Metal production and processing | 34,537 | |
| Textile production and processing | 33,263 | |
| from that | in textile manufacturing | 21,195 |
| in clothing manufacturing | 12,068 | |
| Manufacture of equipment for generating and distributing electricity | 32,307 | |
| from that | in the manufacture of electrical distribution and switching equipment | 10,067 |
| in the manufacture of electric motors and generators | 8,936 | |
| Manufacture of radio, television and communications technology | 31,440 | |
| Manufacture of rubber and plastic products | 30.501 | |
| Manufacture of automobiles and automobile parts | 29,363 | |
| from that | in engine construction | 15,851 |
| in accessory manufacturing | 9,977 | |
| chemical industry | 25,729 | |
| from that | in the pharmaceutical industry | 8,986 |
| in the manufacture of basic chemicals | 6,666 | |
| Paper and cardboard production | 17,653 | |
| Medical, measurement and control technology | 17,617 | |
| Mining | 7,728 | |
| from that | in coal mining | 449 |
| in salt mining | 325 | |
| in ore mining | 237 | |
| Leather production and processing | 6.324 | |
| Manufacture of other vehicles | 6.012 | |
| from that | in shipbuilding | 397 |
| in rail vehicle construction | 4,259 | |
| in bicycle construction | 1,013 | |
| in aircraft and spacecraft construction | 342 | |
| Manufacture of sports equipment | 5,026 | |
| Coking and mineral oil processing | 2,820 | |
| from that | in mineral oil processing | 2,762 |
| recycling | 1,128 | |
| Oil and gas production | 1,031 | |
| Manufacture of office machines and data processing equipment | 910 | |
| Tobacco processing (at 5 locations) | 856 | |
| Tertiary sector (services) | ||
| Branch | Employees | |
| retail trade | 322.010 | |
| Construction | 284.146 | |
| from that | in civil engineering | 148.114 |
| of which in turn | in building construction, bridge and tunnel construction | 87,373 |
| in carpentry, roofing and plumbing | 27,941 | |
| in road and railroad superstructures | 23,571 | |
| in hydraulic engineering | 1,512 | |
| in the building installation sector | 73.204 | |
| in auxiliary construction (painting, joinery, glazing, etc.) | 54.114 | |
| Health, Veterinary and Social Services | 283,627 | |
| from that | in the healthcare system | 210.096 |
| of which in turn | in hospitals | 134,870 |
| in doctor's offices | 43,336 | |
| in dental offices | 15,705 | |
| in social affairs | 70.166 | |
| of which in turn | in homes | 36,124 |
| in the veterinary field | 3,365 | |
| Provision of business-related services | 237.103 | |
| from that | in tax, legal and business advice | 70,831 |
| in architecture and engineering offices | 40,140 | |
| in the cleaning industry | 37,393 | |
| Accommodation and catering | 224.483 | |
| from that | in the lodging sector | 89,747 |
| in the catering sector | 111,421 | |
| Education | 223,624 | |
| from that | in secondary schools | 103.632 |
| in elementary schools and kindergartens | 71,371 | |
| in universities | 27,579 | |
| in adult education | 17,936 | |
| in driving schools | 3,106 | |
| Public administration and social security | 208,808 | |
| from that | in public administration | 112,925 |
| in national defense and in foreign affairs | 72,435 | |
| of which in turn | in public safety and order | 33,656 |
| in social security | 23,448 | |
| in national defense | 21,548 | |
| in the judiciary | 13,642 | |
| at the fire department | 2,837 | |
| in foreign affairs | 752 | |
| Commercial intermediation and wholesale (excluding motor vehicle trade) | 202,688 | |
| Land transport | 144.998 | |
| from that | in the transport of goods by road | 53,029 |
| at railways | 50,963 | |
| in regular passenger transport (excluding rail) | 25.103 | |
| taxi driver | 11,736 | |
| Car trade | 91,478 | |
| Banking and credit | 79.202 | |
| Messaging | 61,311 | |
| from that | for postal and courier services | 36,202 |
| in telecommunications services | 25.109 | |
| Culture, sport and entertainment | 53,697 | |
| from that | in sports | 11,822 |
| in radio and television stations | 6,255 | |
| in zoos, libraries and museums | 5,694 | |
| in film production and distribution | 5,238 | |
| Data processing | 46,880 | |
| from that | in software houses | 23,254 |
| for data processing services | 20,117 | |
| Ancillary and secondary activities for transport | 43,349 | |
| from that | in shipping companies | 17,690 |
| in travel agencies | 11,996 | |
| in the warehouse | 5,884 | |
| Advocacy groups | 34,169 | |
| Realities | 32,154 | |
| from that | in the rental of real estate | 14,109 |
| in the mediation and management of realities | 12,997 | |
| Insurance | 30,950 | |
| Publishing, printing | 30,742 | |
| from that | in printing houses | 18,512 |
| in publishing | 10,650 | |
| in newspaper publishers | 5,142 | |
| in magazine publishers | 3,044 | |
| in book and music publishers | 2,040 | |
| power supply | 29,999 | |
| Waste management | 17,106 | |
| Rental of movable property | 9,024 | |
| Research and Development | 8,329 | |
| air traffic | 7,852 | |
| Water supply | 3,319 | |
| Inland shipping | 490 | |
unemployment
In 2014 unemployment in Austria was 5.1% according to Eurostat or 5.6% according to the ILO concept, which corresponds to 244,900 and 393,674 people respectively. The total number of registered unemployed increased from 194,314 in 2000 to 244,900 in 2015. With 127,601 job seekers, Vienna has the highest unemployment of all federal states. The city also had the largest increase in unemployment with + 15.6%. This is mainly due to its special feature as the only major city in Austria and the strong influx from other regions at home and abroad. In addition, there is the extraordinarily weak economy. The employment situation, which is traditionally favorable in a European comparison, Austria today a. with an unusually strong displacement of older workers from working life. The increase in early retirement is also linked - which is difficult to quantify - to the downsizing in state-owned companies or companies with a private legal shell that are wholly or partially owned by the state. Not to forget the displacement of many full-time jobs towards part-time jobs. The number of employees increases overall, but not the number of hours worked.
- Overview
The table is colored in 4 percent steps:
| from 24% | from 20 % | from 16% | from 12 % | from 8% | from 4 % | under 4% | other information / subtotals |
Trend: coloring in percentage points of the unemployment rate (in brackets: stock in% compared to previous year)
| ↑ above 1.0 | ↑ above 0.5 | ↑ to 0.5 | 0 | ↓ to 0.5 | ↓ over 0.5 | Other Information |
| state | Pers. 2011 |
% 2011 |
Trend '10 / 11 |
Pers. 2010 |
% 2010 |
Trend '09 / 10 |
Pers. 2008 |
% 2008 |
Trend '08 / 11 (1) |
% 2001 |
Trend '01 / 11 (1) |
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- Forecast 2012: 263,000 people (7.1 / 4.5%) ↑ ; 2013: 274,500 people (7.4 / 4.7%) ↑ AMS / Statistics Austria / WIFO
- Source: Unemployed persons registered with the AMS, national calculation: AMS / Main Association of Social Insurance Institutions / Statistics Austria; EU trend series (international definition): Eurostat / Statistics Austria
- (1) 2003 Method changed, only partially comparable
- (B) increased in absolute terms, decreased relative to the workforce
Women and youth unemployment
In 2014 there were 247,012 unemployed men compared to 146,662 women. The strong increase in unemployed women that has persisted for years is worrying. The number of unemployed young people under the age of 25 was 54,454 in the same period. From 2000 to 2014, the number of young people under the age of 25 registered as unemployed increased by 94.86% from 27,945 to 41,568.
Affected industries
The service sector is hardest hit. Many people who worked in tourism lost their jobs. Furthermore, the industry is also affected, which is increasingly moving to the new EU member states due to excessive production and wage costs.
Foreign trade
Traditional trade with the countries behind the former Iron Curtain , which was favored by neutrality , had a major influence on the development of foreign trade .
In 2004, goods worth 91.094 billion euros were imported into Austria , and 89.848 billion euros were earned through exports , resulting in a foreign trade deficit of around 1.25 billion euros. In 2004, however, foreign trade increased massively in comparison to 2003, both in terms of imports (+12.5%) and exports (+13.9%). In 2003 the foreign trade deficit was 2.09 billion euros, and in 2002, for the first time in the history of the second republic, a foreign trade surplus of 296 million euros was achieved, primarily due to the final changeover to the euro that year.
Machines and vehicles have the largest share of both imports and exports, followed by processed goods and other finished goods. The 4th place in terms of imports goes to the Fuels & Energy product group , closely followed by chemical products, which take 4th place in terms of exports. The fifth largest export product group is then Fuels & Energy, just ahead of Food. These take 6th place in terms of imports. The other places for both imports and exports are taken by raw materials (7th), beverages and tobacco (8th) and oil, fats and waxes (9th).
The Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ) estimates the value of the increase in exports for the labor market at 38,500 new employees. The WKÖ's goal for 2006 is to reach the 100 billion euro threshold for exports, which seems quite realistic, with annual export growth rates averaging 8%, which is unmatched in the EU, and 5 to 5.5% per year 2005.
Balance of payments
The Austrian economy has always had a positive balance of payments, although until a few years ago it was mainly tourism that made up for a negative trade balance. Especially since EU membership , the economy has also approached a balanced trade balance. In 2004, exports exceeded imports by 10%, with exports to the new EU member states (including the candidate countries such as Romania and Bulgaria included) but also to the USA increasing. In addition, in 2004, for the first time, investments by Austrian companies abroad exceeded the value that foreign companies invested in Austria. The most important countries in which Austria invested were the Czech Republic and Hungary . The food industry has a large share of exports in connection with the associated agriculture, with particular emphasis on quality and niche products such as organic food. In 2005 Austria exported more food than it imported for the first time.
International corporate investments
The following tables show the largest takeovers of Austrian companies abroad (Table 1) and the largest takeovers of Austrian companies in Germany (Table 2).
The largest takeovers with an Austrian buyer:
| The most expensive takeovers / stakes in foreign companies from Austrian companies purchase prices at the time of the takeover |
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| rank | Buyers | Purchase target | year | Destination Country | Purchase price (in million euros ) |
| 1 | First Bank | Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) | 2005 | ROME | 3,751 |
| 2 | Telekom Austria | Mobile | 2005 | BUL | 1,600 |
| 3 | OMV | 51% Petrom | 2004 | ROME | 1,500 |
| 4th | OMV | 34% petrol ofisi | 2006 | DOOR | 884 |
| 5 | Raiffeisen International | 93.5% bank guarantee | 2005 | UKR | 836 |
| 6th | First Bank | Česká spořitelna | 2001 | CZE | 530 |
| 7th | Raiffeisen International | Impexbank | 2006 | RUS | Max. 454 |
| 8th | First Bank | Slovenská sporiteľňa | 2001 | SVK | 425 |
| 9 | First Bank | Postabank | 2003 | HUN | 399 |
| 10 | TwoOne ( Vienna Airport ) | Bratislava and Košice airports | 2006 | SVK | 299 |
The largest acquisitions with a purchase target in Austria:
| The largest takeovers in Austria Purchase price at the time of the takeover |
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| rank | Buyers | Purchase target | year | Transaction value (in million euros ) |
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| 1 | HypoVereinsbank ( D ) | BA-CA | 2000 | 7,100 | |
| 2 | Cerberus ( US ) | BAWAG PSK | 2007 | 3,200 | |
| 3 | Heineken ( NL ) | BBAG | 2003 | 1,900 | |
| 4th | Gallaher Group ( GB ) | Austria tobacco | 2001 | 1,880 | |
| 5 | BAWAG | PSK | 2000 | 1,270 | |
| 6th | Rewe Group ( D ) | Billa | 1996 | 1,100 | |
| 7th | Siemens AG ( D ) | VA Tech | 2005 | 1,000 | |
Importance of Eastern Europe for the Austrian economy
The Austro-Hungarian monarchy already formed an economic area that combined today's Austria with many regions that were later to lie beyond the Iron Curtain . Due to the neutrality , many succeeded, especially larger companies, to maintain these contacts during the communist era and even to establish new branches. As a result, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, they were among the first to be able to significantly expand their sales channels and production facilities in the Central and Eastern European countries ( CEE ), making Austria one of the largest investors in newly established companies or in companies domiciled there today counts in the immediate neighboring countries.
Companies with a large presence in Central and Eastern European countries :
Banking:
Insurance:
Trade:
Services:
Industry:
- OMV
- Egger Group (wood processing)
- Mayr-Melnhof cardboard box
Due to the already existing good contacts, many internationally active foreign companies have handed over the management of their activities in the Central and Eastern European countries to their Austrian subsidiary. For example, the German cleaning agent group Henkel , the German cosmetics group Beiersdorf , the German retail group Rewe with its Austrian subsidiary Rewe International , the major Italian bank Unicredit , which will handle its Eastern European activities from Vienna through Bank Austria Creditanstalt , the Dutch beverage group Heineken with the Austrian subsidiary Brau Union and also the French construction group Lafarge . In 2006, Assicurazioni Generali also announced that it would in future control its subsidiaries in Eastern Europe from Vienna. But many smaller SMEs have also relocated their sales branches, which are responsible for Central and Eastern Europe, to Austria in order to work on the market from here.
Advocacy groups
The Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO) and the Federation of Industrialists advocate the interests of companies . Employee interests are represented by the Chamber of Labor , which is also responsible for consumer protection, and the Austrian Federation of Trade Unions . Agriculture, which has shrunk in terms of companies in recent years, is represented by the Chamber of Agriculture .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ IMF - World Economic Outlook Database, April 2016.Retrieved September 17, 2016
- ↑ a b IMF - World Economic Outlook Database, October 2014.Retrieved February 5, 2015
- ↑ Statistics Austria Accessed on May 21, 2015
- ↑ Statistics Austria - National Accounts, Main Quantities. Accessed on February 5, 2015
- ↑ Statistics Austria - annual data
- ↑ a b Statistics Austria - Employed Persons Accessed on March 30, 2020
- ↑ Statistics Austria - Labor market statistics 2nd quarter 2013 Retrieved on February 5, 2015
- ↑ Statistics Austria - Unemployed Accessed on February 5, 2015
- ↑ a b Statistics Austria - Overview of Foreign Trade 2013 Accessed on February 4, 2015
- ↑ a b c d Statistics Austria - Foreign Trade 2013 Accessed on February 5, 2015
- ↑ a b c d Statistics Austria - State Quotas Accessed on February 4, 2010
- ↑ see also: List of the Austrian federal states according to gross domestic product
- ^ WKO statistics - GDP per inhabitant. (PDF; 166 KB) In: wko.at. Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
- ↑ Tourism and leisure industry in figures - Austrian and international tourism and economic data . In: Tourism and Leisure Industry in Figures . No. 55 . Austrian Chamber of Commerce, June 2019, p. 40 ( wko.at [PDF; 3.8 MB ; accessed on October 26, 2019]).
- ↑ Klaus Schwab (Ed.): Insight Report - The Global Competitiveness Report 2019 . World Economic Forum , 2019, ISBN 978-2-940631-02-5 , pp. 45 ( weforum.org [PDF; 8.6 MB ; accessed on December 16, 2019]).
- ^ Report for Selected Countries and Subjects. Retrieved September 1, 2018 (American English).
- ↑ Mergers & Acquisitions in Austria. In: imaa-institute.org. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
- ↑ Michael Andreasch, Pirmin Fessler, Peter Mooslechner, Martin Schürz: Facts on the distribution of wealth in Austria. (PDF; 494 KB) In: armutskonferenz.at. 2012, accessed May 12, 2018 .
- ↑ The Happy Planet Index 2016. (xlsx) Retrieved on August 28, 2016 (English).
- ↑ Relevant data quot. according to: Report.at , April 28, 2010
- ^ Exchange of schillings. In: oenb.at. Retrieved May 12, 2018 .
- ^ The power of the customer increases , Der Standard , March 5, 2007, p. 9 - with source AC Nielsen ; Hofer sales estimated in this study
- ↑ Statistics Austria, workplaces and employees by classes of ÖNACE 1995 and rough employee size groups
- ↑ a b AMS Austria: Labor market situation , annual report (downloads under reports and evaluations , ams.at)
- ^ A b Statistics Austria: unemployed, job seekers , statistik.at → Statistics → Labor market
- ↑ a b c d e Statistics Austria: Unemployment rates according to the labor market service (national definition) by gender, citizenship or federal state (updated regularly)
- ↑ a b c AMS Austria: Labor market situation 2010 , Vienna, June 2011, table of unemployment figures , 3rd column, p. 51 ( pdf , ams.at)
- ↑ a b AMS Austria: Labor market situation 2008 , Vienna, June 2009, table of the unemployment rate , 3rd column, p. 51 ( pdf , ams.at)
- ↑ a b c d e f AMS Austria: Economic situation and forecast , status: December 2011 (pdf)
- ↑ Statistics Austria: Registered unemployed according to the labor market service (national definition) according to selected groups (pdf, updated regularly.)
- ↑ Employment and unemployment (LFS / LFS - Labor Force Survey) (employ) → main indicators (lfsi) → population, economically active persons, inactive persons (lfsi_act) → employment (lfsi_emp) → unemployment (une) → unemployment, annual averages, according to gender and age group ( Thousand people) (une_nb_a) and unemployment rates, annual averages , by gender and age group (%) (une_rt_a) , Eurostat
- ↑ Statistics Austria: Unemployment rate (international definition) by federal state and gender since 1995 , updated regularly
- ↑ Nadine Grieger: The labor market situation at the end of December 2014. (PDF; 292 KB) In: ams.at. January 2, 2015, accessed October 19, 2018 .
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