| Zusammenfassung: | The economic and financial crises in Asia and in Russia have had a marked impact on the economic development in Austria. Weaker export growth and, given the economic uncertainties, a feeble propensity to invest dampened GDP growth in the third quarter of 1998 to a low 2.7 percent on a year-on-year basis, following a buoyant growth of 4.4 percent in the first half of 1998. The strong expansion in real disposable income continued to boost consumer demand; consumer spending, rising at a rate of 2 percent in real terms, again proved to be an important component of aggregate demand. Employment gains remained strong at the end of the year; in January 1999, for the first time in many years, the year on year change in unemployment was negative.
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