German economy contracted by 0.3 % in the first quarter and entered technical recession
The German economy contracted by 0.3 % in the first quarter of the year, according to the final data published today by the Federal Department of Statistics (Destatis), so it entered into technical recession after two consecutive negative quarters.
These figures correct the provisional ones previously released by that department, which pointed to a stagnation of the gross domestic product (GDP) between January and March 2023, after the 0.5 % drop that had been recorded in the last quarter of 2022.
“After the contraction reflected with the end of 2022, another quarter in negative was recorded,” Destatis president Ruth Brand noted in a statement.
The contraction in GDP came as an effect of the fall in consumption resulting from inflation, which although it began to be contained, after peaking in October at over 10 %, stood at 7.2 % year-on-year in April.
However, there were positive impulses from exports and investment, as well as a recovery in the construction sector and industrial equipment, machinery production, household appliances and automobiles.
Thus, exports as a whole experienced in this first quarter an increase of 0.4 % compared to the last quarterly period of 2022.
Imports, on the other hand, fell by 0.9%, according to detailed data from Destatis, which highlights the decrease experienced in fuels, minerals and chemical products.
Employment also rose, reaching 45.6 million people in active employment, which represents a year-on-year increase of 446,000 citizens or, in percentage terms, of 1 %.
According to these data, which corroborate the trend of the Federal Employment Agency, the rate of increase in employment continues to rise.