9.12.2024 - Secondary and tertiary sector turnover rose by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Turnover in the secondary sector (industry and construction) increased by 5.5%, while turnover in the services sector fell by 1.7%. The positive trend in turnover was accompanied by an increase in total employment of 0.3% compared with the same quarter of the previous year. This was driven by both the secondary (+0.7%) and the tertiary sectors (+0.3%). These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
Secondary sector
Turnover in the industrial sector in the 3rd quarter of 2024 rose by 5.7% compared with the previous year, while construction turnover increased by +4.7%. The trend in turnover was accompanied by positive secondary sector employment figures, which grew overall by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Employment in the industrial sector saw an upturn (+0.4%) and construction also registered a positive result (+1.2%).
Tertiary sector
Turnover in the services sector fell by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Employment figures saw a positive trend, rising in the services sector (market sectors) when compared with the same quarter of the previous year (+0.3%).
Retail trade
Turnover in the retail trade sector rose by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Employment in retail trade, however, fell (-0,3%).
Focus topic: Commodities trading
In the 3rd quarter 2024, the economic division 46, 'Wholesale trade', recorded the greatest decline in turnover (-6.2%) compared with the same quarter of the previous year, thus dragging down the overall result for the tertiary sector. The reason for this is that commodities trading forms the largest part of economic division 46.
Over the same period, employment in economic division 46 declined by 1.1% in comparison with the same quarter of the previous year.
According to the FSO's Producer Price Index, the index for petroleum products has fallen continuously since the peak in 2022. This partly explains the turnover decline in commodities trading. According to the statistics, the majority of enterprises (30.7%) and employment (32.4%) in commodities trading are found in the 'Wholesale of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels and related products' (2021 statistics).
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