Press release No. 155 of 12 May 2017
WIESBADEN – The German economy continues to grow. In the first quarter of 2017, the gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.6% on the fourth quarter of 2016 after adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar variations. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that, in the second half of the previous year, the GDP grew a little more moderately (+0.2% in the third and +0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2016).
The quarter-on-quarter comparison (following price, seasonal and calendar adjustment) shows that positive contributions came from both domestic and foreign demand, according to provisional calculations. Capital formation increased substantially. Due to the mild weather, fixed capital formation especially in construction, but also in machinery and equipment was markedly up compared with the fourth quarter of 2016. Households and general government increased their final consumption expenditure slightly at the beginning of the year. In addition, the development of foreign trade was more dynamic and contributed to growth as exports increased more than imports, according to provisional results.
Economic growth accelerated year on year, too. The price-adjusted GDP in the first quarter of 2017 was up by 2.9% compared with the same quarter of 2016. Upon adjustment for the exceptionally strong calendar effects due to the timing of public holidays, the GDP increased by 1.7%, which corresponds largely to the calendar-adjusted growth rates of the previous year (+1.7% in the third quarter and +1.8% in the fourth quarter of 2016).
The economic performance in the first quarter of 2017 was achieved by 43.7 million persons in employment, which was an increase of 638,000 or 1.5% on a year earlier.
In the context of the first calculation of data for the first quarter of 2017, the Federal Statistical Office also revised - and modified where necessary - the national accounting results published previously for the individual quarters of 2016 and the year as a whole. Regarding the gross domestic product in the third and fourth quarters of 2016, the previous results were partly revised upwards (though to a minor extent).
| Unadjusted figures | Figures according to Census X-12-ARIMA | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally and calendar-adjusted | Calendar-adjusted1 | Calendar effect | ||||||
| 2010 = 100 | %2 | 2010 = 100 | %3 | 2010 = 100 | %2 | %2 | ||
| 1 For years the calendar-adjusted values are identical with the seasonally and calendar-adjusted values (except for differences due to rounding). 2 Change on the previous year or the same quarter of the preceding year in %. 3 Change on the previous year or previous quarter in %. | ||||||||
| 2016 | 110.20 | 1.9 | 110.02 | 1.8 | 110.02 | 1.8 | 0.1 | |
| 2016 | 1st qtr | 108.50 | 1.5 | 109.43 | 0.7 | 109.05 | 1.9 | –0.4 |
| 2nd qtr | 110.28 | 3.2 | 109.94 | 0.5 | 109.15 | 1.8 | 1.3 | |
| 3rd qtr | 112.08 | 1.6 | 110.12 | 0.2 | 111.99 | 1.7 | –0.1 | |
| 4th qtr | 109.96 | 1.3 | 110.58 | 0.4 | 109.87 | 1.8 | –0.5 | |
| 2017 | 1st qtr | 111.60 | 2.9 | 111.25 | 0.6 | 110.87 | 1.7 | 1.2 |
| Unadjusted figures | Seasonally and calendar-adjusted figures according to Census X-12-ARIMA | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euro billion | Change in %1 | Euro billion | Change in %2 | ||
| 1 Change on the previous year or the same quarter of the preceding year in %. 2 Change on the previous year or previous quarter in %. | |||||
| 2016 | 3,134.070 | 3.3 | 3,128.648 | 3.3 | |
| 2016 | 1st qtr | 763.180 | 3.2 | 774.306 | 1.0 |
| 2nd qtr | 780.760 | 4.7 | 780.476 | 0.8 | |
| 3rd qtr | 794.070 | 2.9 | 782.950 | 0.3 | |
| 4th qtr | 796.060 | 2.6 | 790.916 | 1.0 | |
| 2017 | 1st qtr | 791.260 | 3.7 | 793.582 | 0.3 |
| New result | Previous result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| chain index (2010 = 100) | percentage change 1 | chain index (2010 = 100) | percentage change 1 | ||
| 1 Seasonally and calendar-adjusted figures: Change on the previous year or the same quarter of the preceding year in %. Unadjusted figures: Change on the previous year or the same quarter of the preceding year in %. qtr = quarter | |||||
| Seasonally and calendar-adjusted figures according to Census X-12-ARIMA | |||||
| 2016 | 110.02 | 1.8 | 110.01 | 1.8 | |
| 2016 | 1st qtr | 109.43 | 0.7 | 109.43 | 0.7 |
| 2nd qtr | 109.94 | 0.5 | 109.94 | 0.5 | |
| 3rd qtr | 110.12 | 0.2 | 110.09 | 0.1 | |
| 4th qtr | 110.58 | 0.4 | 110.56 | 0.4 | |
| 2017 | 1st qtr | 111.25 | 0.6 | x | x |
| Unadjusted figures | |||||
| 2016 | 110.20 | 1.9 | 110.19 | 1.9 | |
| 2016 | 1st qtr | 108.50 | 1.5 | 108.50 | 1.5 |
| 2nd qtr | 110.28 | 3.2 | 110.28 | 3.2 | |
| 3rd qtr | 112.08 | 1.6 | 112.05 | 1.5 | |
| 4th qtr | 109.96 | 1.3 | 109.94 | 1.2 | |
| 2017 | 1st qtr | 111.60 | 2.9 | x | x |
More detailed results will be released by the Federal Statistical Office on 23 May 2017.