Bank Austria has predicted that the country’s annual GDP figures could come in 9 percent lower than in 2019. Its analysts anticipate that it will take until 2022 for output to return to pre-crisis levels. In effect, simply by freezing economic activity since mid-March, Austria can already be described as being in the midst of a deep recession. The bank warned that to prevent an even more disastrous decline in GDP, the virus must be stopped in its tracks to allow for a substantial lifting of restrictions by June. Each sector that was closed down by the government can expect a 40 percent cut in annual revenues. The worst affected will be transport companies and travel agencies, who will not be able to make up for the lost time and sales. Bank Austria economists envision unemployment rising to more than 13 percent during the crisis and that the average rate for 2020 will jump to 11 percent.
