Swiss economy grew slightly in the third quarter
Published: Friday, Dec 1st 2023, 09:50
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After a slight decline in the spring, the Swiss economy picked up speed again in the summer. In the third quarter, real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.3% compared to the previous quarter.
Even on a sport-adjusted basis, GDP growth amounted to 0.3%, as announced by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) on Friday. In the second quarter, the Swiss economy shrank slightly by 0.1%.
The service sector once again proved to be a pillar of the local economy, as Seco continued to write. Industry, on the other hand, stagnated as the international environment remained difficult.
Pharmaindustrie erneut robust
The varied development in the manufacturing sector continued: thanks to dynamic exports and sales, value added in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry in particular climbed by 1.2%. The pharmaceutical industry is generally quite resistant to economic fluctuations.
The more cyclically sensitive industrial sectors such as mechanical engineering and metal construction, on the other hand, saw only modest growth in the third quarter, wrote Seco: "These sectors are increasingly feeling the effects of weakening international demand." Nevertheless, exports of goods grew strongly by 6.2 percent, also supported by merchanting.
The service sectors developed differently. Value added grew in the healthcare and social services sector (+0.7%) and in trade (+1.1%). The transportation and communications sector (+0.3%) also provided a moderate boost: while passenger transport increased according to Seco figures, goods transport was slowed by the restrained industrial development.
Severe decline in the hospitality industry
In contrast, the hospitality industry suffered a significant setback (-3.7%). This was the first decline in over two years, Seco wrote. Since then, the sector had recovered from the coronavirus pandemic crash with some strong growth rates. Business-related services also suffered some setbacks (-0.1%).
Overall, the development of the services sector remained below the historical average. This is in line with the weak development of services exports (+0.4%) and the continued lackluster domestic final demand (-0.0%), Seco wrote.
The only domestic demand component to grow substantially was government consumption (+0.5%). According to the report, this growth is in line with the historical average.
Less heating required due to warm weather
In contrast, private consumption (+0.2%) increased only moderately. In particular, the need for heating was significantly lower due to the warmest September on record.
Developments in other consumer sectors were mixed. Construction investment (+0.2%) was weak; value added in the construction industry (-0.3%) fell slightly due to declining sales in building construction.
Investment in equipment (-1.1%) declined for the second quarter in a row. Although investment in research and development, electronic goods and vehicles increased, less was invested in most other categories.
©Keystone/SDA
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