Gross domestic product in 4th Quarter 2011
Bern, 01.03.2012 - The real gross domestic product (GDP) for Switzerland grew in the 4th quarter of 2011 by 0.1% over the 3rd quarter*. Positive growth came from gross fixed investments, private consumption as well as from the trade balance for goods. On the production side, the development of value-added in the banking sector, insurances, real estate, IT and research and development all made a positive contribution to growth, whilst industry reported a reduction in the value-added. GDP growth was 1.3% compared with the 4th quarter 2010.
Private consumption expanded in the 4th quarter by 0.4% over the previous quarter. The categories housing expenditures, foods, health and the component miscellaneous goods and services contributed to this growth. Government consumption stagnated in the 4th quarter compared with the previous quarter.
Gross fixed investments increased by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. The growth was attributable to investment in equipment (+2.9%) and to investment in construction (+1,9%). Invest-ments in the areas of radio and television equipment and information services in particular reported dynamic development.
The export of goods (excluding precious metals, jewels and gems as well as objects of art and antiques) increased by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. The export of component chemicals and related products made a strong, positive contribution. The export of precision instruments and watches also reported a positive development. By contrast, there was a fall in the export of machinery, equipment, electronics and metals. The import of goods (excluding precious metals, jewelry and jewels as well as works of art and antiques) was down by 0.4%.
The export of services was 0.7% lower in the 4th quarter compared to the preceding quarter. This reduction was due both to the tourism as well as other service exports. The import of services showed a slight increase (+0.2%).
On the production side the development of value-added in the banking sector, insurances, real estate, rentals, IT and research and development made a positive contribution to the growth registered in the 4th quarter (+0.7%). The public sector (+0.1%) and the construction sector (+0.1%) also reported growth in the value-added. There was a fall in the value-added in the industry dominated sector (-0.2%), as well as in the sector regrouping trade, hotel and restaurant sector, transport and information services (-0.2%) as well as in the agricultural sector (-2.3%).
The Deflator for the gross domestic product increased by 0.4% compared with the 4th quarter 2010. By comparison with the same quarter of the previous year, prices for private consumer expenditures increased slightly (+0,2%). The prices for equipment fell again (-1.2%). The Deflator for investment in construction increased by 2.2%. Export prices reduced by 1.9% and import prices by 1.1%.
Preliminary results for the year 2011
Based on the results of the quarterly estimates this gives an initial, provisional growth rate of 1.9% in the gross domestic product as an average for the year 2011 at constant prices of the previous year and 2.6% at current prices. In this context, private consumer spending, gross fixed investments and the trade balance with goods had a positive impact on the de-velopment of GDP. By contrast, trading in services had a negative effect on growth. On the production side, with the exception of the agricultural sector, all the main sectors reported growth (see Table 5), with a differentiated picture emerging within the main sectors. The hotel and restaurant and the banking sub-sectors in particular reported a negative development compared with 2010.
Technical note
The initial estimate of the gross domestic product for the full year 2011, determined on the basis of the results for the four estimated quarters, was carried out in accordance with the General Classification of Economic Activities (NOGA) from the year 2002. The annual first estimate of the gross domestic product for 2011 from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, to be published in summer 2012, will be in line with the new NOGA 2008. The SECO will be us-ing the NOGA 2002 for the last time for the estimate of the 1st quarter 2012 (proposed date of publication 31.05.2012). All new data on the national accounts for Switzerland which is published after June 2012 will be itemized exclusively in accordance with the new NOGA 2008 on both an annual as well as a quarterly basis.
(http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/infothek/nomenklaturen/blank/blank/noga0/vue_d_ensemble.html
*Unless stated otherwise the percentage changes over the previous year, listed here are calculated from seasonally and price adjusted figures (not annualized). "Real" is used as an abbreviation for the formulation "data at previous year prices, quarterly chained series with reference year 2000".
Address for enquiries
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO
Holzikofenweg 36
CH-3003 Bern
Tel. +41 58 462 56 56
medien@seco.admin.ch
Documents
Publisher
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
http://www.seco.admin.ch
