Press release No. 058 of 23 February 2018
WIESBADEN – The German economy continued to grow at the end of 2017. As the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) already reported in its first release of 14 February 2018, the gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.6% – upon price, seasonal and calendar adjustment – in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with the previous quarter.
The economic situation in Germany in 2017 was characterised by steady and strong growth (+0.9% in the first quarter, +0.6% in the second quarter and +0.7% in the third quarter). For the whole year of 2017, this was an increase of 2.2% (calendar-adjusted: +2.5%), as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. The provisional annual GDP result released in January has thus been confirmed.
Quarter-on-quarter contributions to growth mainly from foreign demand
The quarter-on-quarter comparison (upon adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar variations) shows that positive contributions to growth came mainly from foreign demand. According to provisional calculations, exports increased substantially (+2.7%) and contributed markedly to economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2017. Imports were up 2.0% in the same period. As regards domestic demand, there were mixed signals. While household final consumption expenditure remained rather stable at the previous quarter's level, government final consumption expenditure increased by 0.5%. Gross fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment was up 0.7% on the third quarter of 2017. However, gross fixed capital formation in construction declined by 0.4% on a quarter earlier.
Slight year-on-year acceleration of growth
Measured by unadjusted figures, economic growth increased year on year, too. The price-adjusted GDP rose by 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2017 (calendar-adjusted: +2.9%), following increases of 2.2% in the third quarter of 2017 (calendar-adjusted: +2.7%) and 1.0% in the second quarter of 2017 (calendar-adjusted: +2.3%). A stronger increase in the calendar-adjusted GDP (+3.3%) was last recorded in the third quarter of 2011.
| 2016 | 2017 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4th qtr | 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4th qtr |
| 1.5 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
Number of persons in employment at new record high
The economic performance in the fourth quarter of 2017 was achieved by 44.7 million persons in employment, which was an increase of 642,000, or 1.5%, on a year earlier.
Overall labour productivity (price-adjusted gross domestic product per hour worked by persons in employment) was markedly above the level of the same quarter a year earlier (+1.6%), according to first provisional calculations. Calculated per person in employment, labour productivity rose by 0.8%.
Year-on-year contributions to growth from both domestic and foreign demand
In the year-on-year comparison, contributions to growth came from both domestic demand and an increased foreign demand for German products in the fourth quarter of 2017. Household final consumption expenditure increased by 1.2%, while government final consumption expenditure was up 1.6%. Gross fixed capital formation in construction increased by 1.3%, while capital formation in machinery and equipment rose by a price-adjusted 6.0%. On the whole, domestic uses were up 1.7% on a year earlier.
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2016, marked increases were recorded in both exports (+5.6%) and imports of goods and services (+4.8%) towards the end of 2017. Arithmetically, the balance of exports and imports had an effect of +0.8 percentage points on GDP growth compared with the previous year.
Gross value added higher in almost all economic sectors
On the production side of the gross domestic product, the price-adjusted gross value added in the last quarter of 2017 was higher than a year earlier in all economic sectors, with the exception of financial and insurance activities (–0.1%). The highest growth rates were recorded for manufacturing (+4.4%) and information and communication services (+4.2%). On the whole, the price-adjusted gross value added of all economic sectors increased by 2.5% on the fourth quarter of 2016.
Increased net national income
At current prices, the gross domestic product increased by 4.0% and the gross national income by 4.2% in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with the same quarter of 2016. Net national income at factor costs, consisting of compensation of employees (+4.2%) and property and entrepreneurial income (+5.1%), rose by a total of 4.5%, according to first provisional calculations. Gross wages and salaries of employees increased by 4.3% and net wages and salaries by 3.7% on a year earlier. On average, wages and salaries per employee did not rise that much (+2.6% in gross terms and +2.0% in net terms) because the number of employees was up as well (+1.7%) compared with the same quarter a year earlier. The disposable income of households increased by 3.2%, this rise being slightly higher than that of household final consumption expenditure at current prices (+2.9%).
Revision of previous results
In addition to calculating first data for the fourth quarter of 2017, the Federal Statistical Office reviewed the national accounting results published previously for the first three quarters and the year of 2017. As reported in the first release of 14 February 2018, this led to slight changes in the GDP in the third quarter of 2017. Significant changes were however made regarding individual GDP components. As is usual for seasonally and calendar-adjusted series, modified results may also appear in the whole time series from 1991 onwards.
| Unadjusted figures | Figures according to Census X-12-ARIMA, price-adjusted, chain-linked | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At current prices | Price-adjusted, chain-linked | Seasonally and calendar-adjusted | Calendar- adjusted | |||||
| EUR billion | % 1 | 2010 = 100 | % 1 | 2010 = 100 | % 2 | % 1 3 | ||
| 1 Change on the previous year or the same quarter of the preceding year in %. 2 Change on the previous year or quarter in %. 3 As for years, the calendar-adjusted values equal the seasonally and calendar-adjusted values (except for differences due to rounding). qtr = quarter | ||||||||
| 2016 | 3,144.05 | 3.3 | 110.67 | 1.9 | 110.48 | 1.9 | 1.9 | |
| 2017 | 3,263.35 | 3.8 | 113.13 | 2.2 | 113.26 | 2.5 | 2.5 | |
| 2016 | 1st qtr | 765.20 | 3.1 | 108.88 | 1.5 | 109.80 | 0.6 | 1.9 |
| 2nd qtr | 784.05 | 4.7 | 110.75 | 3.3 | 110.31 | 0.5 | 1.9 | |
| 3rd qtr | 797.12 | 2.9 | 112.65 | 1.7 | 110.68 | 0.3 | 1.8 | |
| 4th qtr | 797.68 | 2.5 | 110.39 | 1.3 | 111.14 | 0.4 | 1.8 | |
| 2017 | 1st qtr | 798.08 | 4.3 | 112.55 | 3.4 | 112.14 | 0.9 | 2.1 |
| 2nd qtr | 804.39 | 2.6 | 111.86 | 1.0 | 112.85 | 0.6 | 2.3 | |
| 3rd qtr | 831.05 | 4.3 | 115.17 | 2.2 | 113.68 | 0.7 | 2.7 | |
| 4th qtr | 829.83 | 4.0 | 112.94 | 2.3 | 114.37 | 0.6 | 2.9 | |
| 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4 th qtr | |
| At current prices EUR bn. | |||||
| Consumption expenditure | 2,373.648 | 569.616 | 590.392 | 596.342 | 617.298 |
| Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs | 1,734.988 | 415.056 | 435.083 | 440.024 | 444.825 |
| Government final consumption expenditure | 638.660 | 154.560 | 155.309 | 156.318 | 172.473 |
| Gross capital formation | 641.372 | 164.457 | 150.651 | 177.980 | 148.284 |
| Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) | 662.719 | 151.771 | 168.132 | 170.309 | 172.507 |
| GFCF in machinery and equipment | 214.644 | 48.980 | 52.858 | 51.635 | 61.171 |
| GFCF in construction | 322.663 | 72.368 | 84.371 | 87.243 | 78.681 |
| GFCF in other products | 125.412 | 30.423 | 30.903 | 31.431 | 32.655 |
| Domestic uses | 3,015.020 | 734.073 | 741.043 | 774.322 | 765.582 |
| Exports | 1,542.070 | 378.921 | 382.184 | 382.956 | 398.009 |
| Imports | 1,293.740 | 314.914 | 318.837 | 326.228 | 333.761 |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) | 3,263.350 | 798.080 | 804.390 | 831.050 | 829.830 |
| Price-adjusted, chain-linked Change on the previous year in % | |||||
| Consumption expenditure | 1.8 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.3 |
| Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs | 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.2 |
| Government final consumption expenditure | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Gross capital formation | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.2 |
| Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) | 3.3 | 4.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| GFCF in machinery and equipment | 4.0 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 4.5 | 6.0 |
| GFCF in construction | 2.7 | 5.6 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 1.3 |
| GFCF in other products | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
| Domestic uses | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 1.7 |
| Exports | 4.7 | 7.0 | 1.3 | 4.9 | 5.6 |
| Imports | 5.1 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 5.8 | 4.8 |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) | 2.2 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
| memorandum item: | |||||
| GDP per person in employment | 0.7 | 1.8 | –0.5 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| GDP per hour worked by persons in employment | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.6 |
| Contributions to growth of price-adjusted GDP in percentage points | |||||
| Consumption expenditure | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.7 |
| Government final consumption expenditure | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Gross capital formation | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| GFCF in machinery and equipment | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| GFCF in construction | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| GFCF in other products | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Changes in inventories and so on | 0.1 | –0.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | –0.1 |
| Domestic uses | 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 1.5 |
| Balance of exports and imports (net exports) | 0.2 | 1.1 | –1.1 | –0.0 | 0.8 |
| 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4th qtr | |
| 1 Only seasonally adjusted. qtr = quarter | ||||
| At current prices EUR bn. | ||||
| Consumption expenditure | 586.989 | 592.780 | 595.241 | 599.516 |
| Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs | 429.690 | 434.290 | 434.876 | 437.010 |
| Government final consumption expenditure | 157.299 | 158.490 | 160.365 | 162.506 |
| Gross capital formation | 153.591 | 161.228 | 164.932 | 163.403 |
| Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) | 162.558 | 165.935 | 167.456 | 168.605 |
| GFCF in machinery and equipment | 52.006 | 53.779 | 54.569 | 54.983 |
| GFCF in construction | 79.685 | 80.903 | 81.290 | 81.927 |
| GFCF in other products | 30.867 | 31.253 | 31.597 | 31.695 |
| Domestic uses | 740.580 | 754.008 | 760.173 | 762.919 |
| Exports | 377.094 | 381.925 | 387.228 | 399.307 |
| Imports | 316.635 | 323.179 | 323.429 | 332.726 |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) | 801.039 | 812.754 | 823.972 | 829.500 |
| Price-adjusted, chain-linked Change on the previous quarter in % | ||||
| Consumption expenditure | 0.7 | 0.8 | –0.0 | 0.1 |
| Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs | 0.8 | 0.9 | –0.2 | 0.0 |
| Government final consumption expenditure | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Gross capital formation | –1.1 | 2.9 | 1.9 | –0.0 |
| Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) | 2.6 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| GFCF in machinery and equipment | 2.6 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| GFCF in construction | 2.9 | 0.5 | –0.3 | –0.4 |
| GFCF in other products | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.6 | –0.1 |
| Domestic uses | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Exports | 1.7 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 2.7 |
| Imports | 0.4 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 2.0 |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| memorandum item: | ||||
| GDP per person in employment | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| GDP per hour worked by persons in employment 1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Contributions to growth of price-adjusted GDP in percentage points | ||||
| Consumption expenditure | 0.5 | 0.6 | –0.0 | 0.1 |
| Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs | 0.4 | 0.5 | –0.1 | 0.0 |
| Government final consumption expenditure | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Gross capital formation | –0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| GFCF in machinery and equipment | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| GFCF in construction | 0.3 | 0.1 | –0.0 | –0.0 |
| GFCF in other products | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Changes in inventories and so on | –0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | –0.0 |
| Domestic uses | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Balance of exports and imports (net exports) | 0.6 | –0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4th qtr | |
| At current prices EUR bn. | |||||
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 20.832 | 4.949 | 5.506 | 5.585 | 4.792 |
| Industry, excluding construction | 754.952 | 186.984 | 187.995 | 190.832 | 189.141 |
| including: | |||||
| Manufacturing | 674.341 | 165.765 | 168.589 | 171.757 | 168.230 |
| Construction | 145.172 | 29.392 | 36.296 | 38.878 | 40.606 |
| Trade, transport, accommodation and food services | 474.224 | 111.486 | 120.558 | 121.417 | 120.763 |
| Information and communication | 138.474 | 34.659 | 33.319 | 35.806 | 34.690 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 110.943 | 27.711 | 27.859 | 27.794 | 27.579 |
| Real estate activities | 317.474 | 79.122 | 78.801 | 81.534 | 78.017 |
| Business services | 323.874 | 80.248 | 77.089 | 84.935 | 81.602 |
| Public services, education, health | 536.496 | 132.548 | 129.389 | 133.756 | 140.803 |
| Other services | 118.593 | 29.399 | 28.629 | 30.612 | 29.953 |
| Gross value added, total | 2,941.034 | 716.498 | 725.441 | 751.149 | 747.946 |
| Price-adjusted, chain-linked | |||||
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | –0.7 | –1.7 | –2.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Industry, excluding construction | 2.7 | 4.5 | –0.3 | 2.8 | 3.9 |
| including: | |||||
| Manufacturing | 3.0 | 5.0 | –0.5 | 3.3 | 4.4 |
| Construction | 2.1 | 5.7 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Trade, transport, accommodation and food services | 2.9 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 2.1 |
| Information and communication | 3.9 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.2 |
| Financial and insurance activities | –0.3 | 0.5 | –0.7 | –0.7 | –0.1 |
| Real estate activities | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Business services | 2.6 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
| Public services, education, health | 2.1 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 1.7 |
| Other services | 1.1 | 2.5 | –0.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
| Gross value added, total | 2.3 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 2.5 |
| 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4 th qtr | |
| At current prices EUR bn. | |||||
| Gross national income | 3,323.457 | 814.101 | 808.153 | 847.720 | 853.483 |
| Net national income (factor costs) | 2,434.431 | 592.861 | 587.444 | 624.876 | 629.250 |
| Compensation of employees | 1,669.920 | 390.184 | 407.997 | 411.836 | 459.903 |
| Property and entrepreneurial income | 764.511 | 202.677 | 179.447 | 213.040 | 169.347 |
| Gross wages and salaries of employees | 1,370.345 | 319.318 | 333.863 | 338.526 | 378.638 |
| Net wages and salaries of employees | 905.884 | 211.742 | 215.914 | 228.884 | 249.344 |
| memorandum item: | |||||
| Disposable income of households | 1,875.213 | 465.411 | 467.551 | 467.876 | 474.375 |
| Savings ratio (in %) | 9.9 | 13.1 | 9.3 | 8.4 | 8.7 |
| Change on the previous year in % | |||||
| Gross national income | 3.9 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 4.6 | 4.2 |
| Net national income (factor costs) | 4.1 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 5.1 | 4.5 |
| Compensation of employees | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.2 |
| Property and entrepreneurial income | 3.6 | 4.0 | –1.0 | 6.3 | 5.1 |
| Gross wages and salaries of employees | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.3 |
| Net wages and salaries of employees | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 3.7 |
| memorandum item: | |||||
| Disposable income of households | 3.9 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.2 |
