Press release No.308 / 2008-08-26

Detailed results on the economic performance in the 2nd quarter of 2008

WIESBADEN – As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) already in its first release on 14 August 2008, the gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2008 was by 0.5% lower – upon price, seasonal and calendar adjustment – than in the first three months of the year. In the first quarter of 2008, the economic performance was up by 1.3%.

Gross domestic product, price-adjusted, chain-linked
(figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects using Census X-12-ARIMA)
Changes on a quarter earlier:
2006		2007				2008
3rd quarter	4th quarter	1st quarter	2nd quarter	3rd quarter	4th quarter	1st quarter	2nd quarter
+0.7%	+1.1%	+0.4%	+0.4%	+0.6%	+0.3%	+1.3%	–0.5%

The economic development in the second quarter of 2008 was characterised by a decrease in domestic uses: Gross fixed capital formation was down 1.9% on the first quarter of 2008. This is mainly due to the trend of capital formation in construction, which decreased 3.5% on the previous quarter. It must be taken into account, however, that in the first quarter of 2008 capital formation in construction recorded a 5.7% increase, which is a very good result also in a long-term comparison and was supported, among other things, by the mild winter. Capital formation in machinery and equipment was down by 0.5% from the previous quarter. While government increased its final consumption expenditure by 0.3%, final consumption expenditure of households had a downward effect on growth: It was down by 0.7% on the first three months of the year. However, growth was supported by foreign trade. Compared with the first quarter of 2008, downward trends were recorded for both exports and imports. As, however, imports decreased much more strongly (–1.3%) than exports (–0.2%), the resulting export surplus (net exports) contributed 0.4 percentage points to economic growth.

The following information refers to the year-on-year comparison:

Compared with the second quarter of 2007, the price-adjusted GDP increased 3.1% in the second quarter of 2008. When calendar-adjusted, the growth rate was 1.7% because the reference quarter had three working days more than the second quarter of 2007.

Gross domestic product, price-adjusted, chain-linked (unadjusted figures)
Changes on a year earlier:
2006		2007				2008
3rd quarter	4th quarter	1st quarter	2nd quarter	3rd quarter	4th quarter	1st quarter	2nd quarter
+2.8%	+3.8%	+3.4%	+2.5%	+2.4%	+1.6%	+1.8%	+3.1%

The economic performance in the second quarter of 2008 was achieved by 40.2 million persons in employment, which was an increase of 566,000 persons or 1.4% on a year earlier.

Overall labour productivity (price-adjusted gross domestic product per person in employment) increased by 1.6% on the second quarter of the previous year. Measured per hour worked, labour productivity remained unchanged because the number of hours worked rose much more strongly (+3.1%) than the number of persons in employment.

As regards the production of the price-adjusted gross domestic product, economic growth was based on all economic sectors. High growth rates were recorded by the industry (including energy) with +5.8% and by construction, which was up 7.3% on the second quarter of 2007. In trade, transport and communications, the price-adjusted gross value added rose 3.4% and in financial, renting and business activities, the economic performance increased 2.5% compared with a year earlier. A relatively small increase was observed for agriculture, forestry and fishing (+1.6%) and by other service activities (+1.2%). Altogether, price-adjusted gross value added of all economic sectors was up 3.4%.

As regards the production side of the price-adjusted gross domestic product, economic growth was based on all economic sectors. High growth rates were recorded by industry (including energy) with 5.8% and by construction, which was up 7.3% on the second quarter of 2007. In trade, transport and communications, the price-adjusted gross value added rose 3.4% and in financial, real estate, renting and business activities, the economic performance increased 2.5% compared with a year earlier. A relatively small increase was observed for agriculture, hunting and forestry; fishing (+1.6%) and by other service activities (+1.2%). Altogether, price-adjusted gross value added of all economic sectors was up 3.4%.

As regards the use side of the gross domestic product, growth was based both on domestic and foreign demand in the second quarter of 2008. Domestic uses, comprising final consumption expenditure and gross capital formation (including changes in inventories), was up a price-adjusted 2.2% on the second quarter of 2007. This is mainly due to a strong increase in gross fixed capital formation (+7.9%). The enterprises’ capital formation in machinery, equipment and transport equipment was up 10.1% on the same period a year earlier. Above-average rates of increase were recorded especially for the manufacture of machinery and equipment, electrical engineering, manufacture of other transport equipment, computers and communication equipment. Contrary to the quarter-on-quarter comparison, capital formation in construction, too, rose markedly by 6.2%. A strong increase was recorded particularly for capital formation in non-residential buildings, which was by 8.7% higher than in the second quarter of 2007. Capital formation in residential buildings increased a price-adjusted 4.4%. As the second quarter of 2008 had three working days more than the same quarter of the previous year, those figures include a working day effect. Final consumption expenditure did not contribute much to growth. While government final consumption expenditure increased by 2.0%, final consumption expenditure of households remained unchanged. Closer examination shows that price-adjusted final consumption expenditure changed only slightly for most uses. Exceptions are, first, expenditure on food, beverages and tobacco, which was down again by 3.5% and, second, expenditure on recreation and culture, which was up 2.8% on the second quarter of 2007.

Due to the continuing strong foreign demand, price-adjusted exports rose 7.0%. Imports increased less strongly by 5.7%. The resulting export surplus (net exports) contributed 1.1 percentage points to economic growth.

At current prices, the gross domestic product was up 4.4% and gross national income was up 3.9% in the second quarter of 2008 compared with a year earlier. Net national income (factor costs), showing the total of labour and property income received by domestic economic units, increased by 5.0% on the same period of the previous year. Property and entrepreneurial income was up by 8.0%, compensation of employees by 3.5%. Disposable income of households rose slightly more strongly (+2.6%) than nominal final consumption expenditure (+2.3%). The savings ratio of households increased from 10.3% in the second quarter of 2007 to 10.8% in the reference quarter.

In addition to the first calculation of data for the second quarter of 2008, the results published so far for the last four years (from 2004) were revised at the same time, as is the case every year in August. Such continuous revisions are carried out routinely to integrate newly available statistical information into the calculations. This time, the turnover tax statistics and the business structure surveys for reference year 2006, among other things, were for the first time included in the calculations.

Regular revision of the results is in the nature of the calculation methods applied in national accounting: To allow early publication of up-to-date figures, the results at first are based on an incomplete data basis and part of them are estimated using short-term indicators. Such first provisional results are revised in subsequent regular calculations and are successively put on an ever better founded data basis in statistical terms. National accounting data are considered “final” – except for large-scale concept-related revisions – after about four years, when nearly all basic statistics required have become available.

The recalculations performed in August 2008 resulted in rates of change of the annual and quarterly GDP (unadjusted figures) which differ from the previously published results by up to 0.2 percentage points.

The above and other national accounts data may be accessed via the internet (<--Link Fachbereich!). In addition, more detailed results are published in Fachserie 18 “Volkswirtschaftliche Gesamtrechnungen”, Reihe 1.2 “Vierteljahresergebnisse“ and Reihe 1.3 “Saisonbereinigte Vierteljahresergebnisse nach Census X-12-ARIMA und BV4.1“ . Those publications are available for free download from the Publications of the Federal Statistical Office. A detailed quality report on national accounts is also available free of charge.

>>> brief methodological description

For further information please contact:
National accounts info team,
tel: (+49-611) 75-2626,

E-mail: gdp-info@destatis.de

Gross domestic product
Price-adjusted, chain-linked
		Unadjusted figures		Figures according to Census X-12-ARIMA
		Unadjusted figures		Seasonally and calendar adjusted		Calendar adjusted		Calendar effect
		2000 = 100	% ¹⁾	2000 = 100	% ²⁾	2000 = 100	% ¹⁾	% ¹⁾
¹⁾ Change on the same quarter of the preceding year in %. ²⁾ Change on the previous quarter in %.
2004	1st quarter	100.29	1.6	101.91	0.3	99.96	1.0	0.6
	2nd quarter	101.85	1.6	101.98	0.1	101.68	1.2	0.4
	3rd quarter	103.24	0.6	101.80	–0.2	103.04	0.6	0.0
	4th quarter	103.58	1.0	101.83	0.0	102.85	0.2	0.8
2005	1st quarter	99.44	–0.8	102.00	0.2	100.09	0.1	–1.0
	2nd quarter	103.47	1.6	102.72	0.7	102.38	0.7	0.9
	3rd quarter	104.60	1.3	103.25	0.5	104.49	1.4	–0.1
	4th quarter	104.60	1.0	103.43	0.2	104.43	1.5	–0.5
2006	1st quarter	103.02	3.6	104.29	0.8	102.38	2.3	1.3
	2nd quarter	105.22	1.7	105.85	1.5	105.47	3.0	–1.3
	3rd quarter	107.49	2.8	106.59	0.7	107.86	3.2	–0.4
	4th quarter	108.60	3.8	107.71	1.1	108.72	4.1	–0.3
2007	1st quarter	106.56	3.4	108.15	0.4	106.21	3.7	–0.3
	2nd quarter	107.84	2.5	108.53	0.4	108.15	2.5	–0.0
	3rd quarter	110.06	2.4	109.18	0.6	110.49	2.4	–0.0
	4th quarter	110.31	1.6	109.55	0.3	110.56	1.7	–0.1
2008	1st quarter	108.46	1.8	110.94	1.3	108.99	2.6	–0.8
2008	2nd quarter	111.18	3.1	110.39	–0.5	109.99	1.7	1.4

Gross domestic product, gross national income and
net national income (factor costs)
Seasonally and calendar adjusted with Census X-12-ARIMA
	2007				2008
	1st quarter	2nd quarter	3rd quarter	4th quarter	1st quarter	2nd quarter
¹⁾ Only seasonally adjusted.
Change on the previous quarter in %
Use of the gross domestic product
At current prices
Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs	–1.7	1.3	0.8	0.5	0.1	–0.1
Government final consumption expenditure	1.3	0.1	0.5	0.4	1.8	0.5
Gross fixed capital formation	2.3	–0.6	1.1	2.0	4.1	–1.4
Machinery and equipment	1.7	1.6	1.0	3.0	1.9	–0.4
Construction	3.1	–2.6	1.2	1.2	6.6	–2.6
Other products	0.1	2.2	1.5	1.6	–2.4	2.3
D o m e s t i c u s e s	2.4	–0.1	1.1	0.0	2.3	–0.3
Exports	–1.1	1.7	1.6	1.1	2.8	0.3
Imports	0.6	–0.0	2.3	0.1	4.4	–0.1
G r o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t (GDP)	1.5	0.7	0.9	0.5	1.7	–0.1
Price-adjusted, chain-linked
Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs	–2.1	0.7	0.3	–0.2	–0.4	–0.7
Government final consumption expenditure	1.5	0.0	0.4	0.1	1.1	0.3
Gross fixed capital formation	0.4	–0.8	1.1	2.0	3.4	–1.9
Machinery and equipment	1.2	1.6	1.5	3.8	1.6	–0.5
Construction	–0.2	–3.5	0.6	0.4	5.7	–3.5
Other products	–0.9	5.8	2.3	1.8	–1.1	3.1
D o m e s t i c u s e s	1.4	–0.6	0.9	–0.4	1.6	–1.0
Exports	–1.3	1.4	1.7	1.3	2.1	–0.2
Imports	0.8	–0.5	2.7	–0.3	3.2	–1.3
G r o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t (GDP)	0.4	0.4	0.6	0.3	1.3	–0.5
memorandum item:
GDP per hour worked by persons in employment ¹⁾	–0.3	–0.0	0.3	0.1	0.8	–1.1
At current prices
Gross national income ¹⁾	1.9	–0.5	1.6	0.4	1.3	0.7
Net national income (factor costs) ¹⁾	0.9	–1.2	2.6	0.6	1.4	0.4
Compensation of employees ¹⁾	1.1	0.9	0.2	0.8	1.5	0.8
Property and entrepreneurial income ¹⁾	0.4	–4.9	7.2	0.3	1.2	–0.4
Disposable income of households ¹⁾	–0.7	0.6	0.6	1.3	0.0	0.7
Contributions to growth of the price-adjusted GDP in percentage points
Domestic uses	1.3	–0.5	0.9	–0.4	1.5	–1.0
Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs	–1.2	0.4	0.2	–0.1	–0.2	–0.4
Government final consumption expenditure	0.3	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.2	0.1
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)	0.1	–0.1	0.2	0.4	0.7	–0.4
including: GFCF in machinery and equipment	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.1	0.0
GFCF in construction	0.0	–0.3	0.1	0.0	0.5	–0.4
Changes in inventories, etc.	2.2	–0.8	0.4	–0.7	0.8	–0.2
Balance of exports and imports (net exports)	–0.9	0.9	–0.3	0.7	–0.3	0.4

Gross domestic product, gross national income and
net national income (factor costs)
– unadjusted figures –
	2007				2008
	1st quarter	2nd quarter	3rd quarter	4th quarter	1st quarter	2nd quarter
Change on the same quarter of the preceding year in %
Use of the gross domestic product
At current prices
Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs	1.0	1.4	1.9	1.2	2.2	2.3
Government final consumption expenditure	2.3	2.6	2.6	2.2	3.1	3.4
Gross fixed capital formation	14.4	6.0	5.4	4.5	5.0	9.1
Machinery and equipment	7.9	4.9	5.9	6.7	5.1	9.2
Construction	21.9	7.0	4.9	2.5	5.1	9.7
Other products	4.2	5.3	5.4	5.3	3.0	3.1
D o m e s t i c u s e s	3.2	2.1	2.6	3.4	2.8	4.4
Exports	11.4	9.9	8.5	2.9	6.0	7.8
Imports	7.4	5.1	4.8	2.6	6.0	8.4
G r o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t (GDP)	5.2	4.4	4.4	3.5	3.1	4.4
Price-adjusted, chain-linked
Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs	–0.2	–0.2	0.0	–1.0	–0.1	–0.0
Government final consumption expenditure	2.1	2.5	2.3	1.8	1.7	2.0
Gross fixed capital formation	10.9	2.7	2.7	2.4	4.1	7.9
Machinery and equipment	8.6	5.3	6.5	7.5	6.2	10.1
Construction	14.1	–0.0	–1.0	–2.8	2.0	6.2
Other products	4.3	8.9	9.6	8.8	8.9	6.2
D o m e s t i c u s e s	2.0	0.4	1.0	1.2	1.0	2.2
Exports	10.1	9.3	8.3	2.8	5.5	7.0
Imports	7.5	5.2	5.5	2.2	4.2	5.7
G r o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t (GDP)	3.4	2.5	2.4	1.6	1.8	3.1
memorandum item:
GDP per hour worked by persons in employment	1.1	0.5	0.8	0.2	1.2	0.0
At current prices
Gross national income	5.7	3.6	4.5	3.5	2.9	3.9
Net national income (factor costs)	4.7	2.2	4.1	2.9	3.5	5.0
Compensation of employees	3.1	3.3	2.6	2.9	3.5	3.5
Property and entrepreneurial income	7.5	0.3	6.8	2.8	3.5	8.0
Disposable income of households	1.4	1.4	1.8	1.7	2.5	2.6
Contributions to growth of the price-adjusted GDP in percentage points
Domestic uses	1.8	0.4	0.9	1.2	0.9	2.1
Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs	–0.1	–0.1	0.0	–0.6	–0.1	0.0
Government final consumption expenditure	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.4
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)	1.7	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.7	1.5
including: GFCF--Gross fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment	0.6	0.4	0.5	0.7	0.4	0.8
GFCF--Gross fixed capital formation in construction	1.1	0.0	–0.1	–0.3	0.2	0.6
Changes in inventories, etc.	–0.1	–0.5	0.0	0.9	–0.1	0.2
Balance of exports and imports (net exports)	1.6	2.1	1.5	0.5	0.9	1.1

Gross domestic product, gross national income and
net national income (factor costs)
– unadjusted figures –
	2004	2005	2006	2007
Change on the previous year in %
Use of the gross domestic product
At current prices
Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs	1.4	1.7	2.3	1.4
Government final consumption expenditure	–0.2	1.0	1.3	2.4
Gross fixed capital formation	0.1	1.0	8.2	7.2
Machinery and equipment	3.5	4.9	9.8	6.3
Construction	–2.5	–2.1	7.5	8.1
Other products	1.8	2.5	3.9	5.1
D o m e s t i c u s e s	1.0	1.2	3.1	2.8
Exports	10.2	8.4	14.3	8.0
Imports	7.5	8.8	14.9	4.9
G r o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t (GDP)	2.2	1.5	3.5	4.4
Price-adjusted, chain-linked
Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs	0.1	0.2	1.0	–0.4
Government final consumption expenditure	–0.7	0.4	0.6	2.2
Gross fixed capital formation	–0.3	1.1	7.7	4.3
Machinery and equipment	4.5	6.0	11.1	6.9
Construction	–3.9	–3.0	5.0	1.8
Other products	1.4	4.9	8.0	8.0
D o m e s t i c u s e s	–0.1	0.0	2.1	1.1
Exports	10.3	7.7	12.7	7.5
Imports	7.3	6.5	11.9	5.0
G r o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t (GDP)	1.2	0.8	3.0	2.5
memorandum item:
GDP per hour worked by persons in employment	0.6	1.4	2.5	0.6
At current prices
Gross national income	3.9	1.7	4.0	4.3
Net national income (factor costs)	4.5	1.5	4.1	3.5
Compensation of employees	0.4	–0.6	1.7	3.0
Property and entrepreneurial income	14.5	5.9	8.7	4.5
Disposable income of households	1.5	2.0	1.9	1.6
Contributions to growth of the price-adjusted GDP in percentage points
Domestic uses	–0.1	0.0	2.0	1.1
Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs	0.1	0.1	0.6	–0.2
Government final consumption expenditure	–0.1	0.1	0.1	0.4
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)	–0.1	0.2	1.3	0.8
including: GFCF--Gross fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment	0.3	0.4	0.8	0.5
GFCF--Gross fixed capital formation in construction	–0.4	–0.3	0.5	0.2
Changes in inventories, etc.	0.0	–0.4	0.0	0.1
Balance of exports and imports (net exports)	1.4	0.7	1.0	1.4

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