Slowdown in Economic Growth as a Consequence of German Re-unification

Over the next five years, Austria's economy, along with Germany's and Western Europe's economies, is likely to grow more slowly than in the period 1985-1992. Real gross domestic product is expected to rise by 2.3 percent per year. The rate of unemployment will fall just slightly below the value expected for 1993 (the average value over the whole period is put at 6½ percent), because the increase in the supply of labour will barely fall short of the rise in dependent employment. Inflation is expected to slow down gradually. The deficit in the current balance is likely to be no more than 0.1 percent of gross domestic product.