by Switzerland’s GDP fell by –2.6 % in the 1st quarter of 2020, after rising by +0.3% in the previous quarter, according to a government press release. © Michael Müller | Dreamstime.comDue to the coronavirus pandemic and the measures to contain it, economic activity in March was severely restricted, said the statement. A global slowdown also affected exports. The service sector was the worst hit with accommodation and food services down -23.4%. Transport and communications (-5.1%), trade (-4.4%) and the healthcare sector (-3.9%) were also significantly impacted. The only sectors experiencing growth were public administration (+0.8%) and finance (+2.3%). One driver of the slump was declining private consumption (-3.5%), particularly spending on furniture, clothing, mobility,
Topics:
Investec considers the following as important: Business & Economy, Editor's Choice, Swiss GDP, Swiss GDP 2020
This could be interesting, too:
Investec writes Switzerland ranked second in digital competitiveness
Investec writes Swiss wages set to rise in 2025
Investec writes Federal Council hopes to boost savings with pension change
Investec writes Switzerland’s cross border workers reach record level
Switzerland’s GDP fell by –2.6 % in the 1st quarter of 2020, after rising by +0.3% in the previous quarter, according to a government press release.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the measures to contain it, economic activity in March was severely restricted, said the statement. A global slowdown also affected exports.
The service sector was the worst hit with accommodation and food services down -23.4%. Transport and communications (-5.1%), trade (-4.4%) and the healthcare sector (-3.9%) were also significantly impacted.
The only sectors experiencing growth were public administration (+0.8%) and finance (+2.3%).
One driver of the slump was declining private consumption (-3.5%), particularly spending on furniture, clothing, mobility, leisure and health. The only domestic demand component rising was government consumption (+0.7%).
Switzerland’s key trading partners also saw their economic situation deteriorate significantly. This had a negative impact on manufacturing exports (-1.3%), such as precision instruments and watchmaking. However, growth in chemical and pharmaceutical exports offset this leading to an overall increase in Swiss exports (+3.4%).
Switzerland’s first quarter slump was relatively mild compared to many other nations. In the US GDP slumped -5.0% in Q1. Q1 GDP declines in the neighbouring nations of France (-5.3%) and Italy (-5.3%) were significantly larger than in Switzerland. Switzerland’s Q1 slump was similar in magnitude to Germany’s (-2.2%) and Austria’s (-2.6%).
More on this:
Government press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.