Economic environment

The eurozone concluded 2024 with a reported real GDP growth rate of 0.8%. Private and public consumption proved to be supports for growth, albeit weak in some cases, while declining exports slowed the recovery process.

Economic development varied from region to region. While Spain and France, for example, proved to be the drivers of this growth, Germany disappointed with continued stagnation, weighed down by the ongoing weakness of the global industrial economy. Austria has also reported a contraction in real GDP of 2.0%, while Erste Group analysts summarise a real GDP growth of 1.2% in 2024 for the Central and Eastern Europe region.

Inflation in the Eurozone was 2.4% in 2024, meaning it has been less than half the rate of the previous year. The disinflationary process prompted the European Central Bank (ECB) to lower its deposit rate to 2.5% in its final step in February 2025.

The Eurozone labour market remained strong and unemployment rates low. The labour market in Central and Eastern Europe remained stable. The Austrian labour market also proved to be fundamentally robust, although the number of vacancies fell and the unemployment rate rose slightly.