Lower Austria is back in the fastlane

Austria’s largest province is right in the middle of an economic comeback with excellent growth rates.

Numerous business indicators show that Lower Austria is at the start of a long-term growth period. The number of investment projects in tourism and economy has reached a record high this summer and the number of business settlements and expansions with help from the Ecoplus agency is above-average compared to the last few years. In addition, the Economica Institute predicts a growth rate of 4.3 percent for Lower Austria – this year and next.

“Lower Austria has emerged stronger from the Covid pandemic and will make the most of this economic recovery,” says Regional Councillor for Economic Affairs Jochen Danninger. “In order to fully tap the upswing’s potential, we need to push the transformation of our economy and consistently commit to digitisation, ecology and regional products.”

Growth in Lower Austria

This year, growth will be carried mainly by the industrial sector. Goods production will go up by 8.9 percent, retail will grow by 6.7 percent after the lockdown. Next year, the hospitality sector will stand out in particular with experts predicting a strong growth of 30.3 percent for 2022.

“We expect this growth period in Lower Austria to last until at least 2024, if no unexpected shocks come long”, explains Christian Helmenstein, head of the Economica Institute for Economic Research. “Our prognosis shows that Lower Austria is a quick starter in economic recovery with excellent chances for a long-lasting upswing.” Regional Councillor Danninger adds: “There is a lot of investment activity going on. We can also tell by the number of applications for investment subsidies. Intelligent and innovative products with a high level of quality will be the main driver of competitiveness. Therefore, we are creating networking platforms in the fields of health economy, eco-economy, aviation and aerospace in order to give businesses in these sectors the best possible support for international competition.”

Another reliable figure that shows how well the economy is doing, is business settlements and site expansions. This area is cause for optimism in Lower Austria despite the fact that the first half of 2021 was still heavily under the influence of the pandemic: The number of business settlements and site expansions – and of course the subsequent number of new jobs – has already surpassed the pre-Covid levels. The business agency Ecoplus has supported 62 projects from January to July 2021, helping to create more than 1,000 new jobs in Lower Austria. “Being the Province’s business agency, our task is to help entrepreneurs and support them in difficult times with everything they do,” says Ecoplus Managing Director Helmut Miernicki. “We are constantly putting maximum effort into creating the best conditions. We want to create the best business location for Lower Austrian and cross-regional companies, and create jobs in the communities – while keeping our ecological responsibility in mind.”

Export and Internationalisation Strategy 2027

Speaking of jobs: One in two euros generated in Lower Austria and one in four jobs are connected to exports. Foreign trade was impacted heavily by the Covid pandemic in 2020 but Lower Austria could defend its position as Austria’s third-best exporter behind Upper Austria and Styria. A drop in exports of 7.6 percent resulted in Lower Austria being within the nationwide average of -7.5 percent. Lower Austria’s exporters turn over goods worth 22.5 billion euros per year. The province’s top export destinations are Germany, followed by Hungary and Italy in third place. The next placed countries are the Czech Republic, the United States, Poland, Switzerland, Slovakia, France and Slovenia. The type of goods exported most to these countries include machines, electronic goods, mineral fuels, iron and steel goods, aluminium

Presentation of the Export and Internationalisation Strategy 2027: Jochen Danninger, Regional Councillor for Economic Affairs, Alexandra Höfer, deputy head of the Lower Austrian Economic Chamber, Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Wolfgang Ecker, head of the Lower Austrian Economic Chamber, and Helmust Miernicki, Managing Director of Ecoplus

and plastics. About 10,000 Lower Austrian companies are exporting their goods every day. But the Province wants this figure to rise with help of the Export and Internationalisation Strategy 2027.

Cooperation for Lower Austria’s economy

“Lower Austrian goods are popular abroad, which is why we are among Austria’s top export regions,” says Lower Austria’s Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner. “We want to support our businesses’ foreign trade even more and carry more products made in Lower Austria into the world. We will achieve this with our Export Strategy in conjunction with the Lower Austrian Economic Chamber, offering financial support and tailor-made consultation.” The Province of Lower Austria defined three main thrusts in accordance with economic representatives, which will help newcomers, existing exporters and leading players in their respective sectors to be (even more) successful in the EU markets and beyond.

“The Province of Austria and the Lower Austrian Economic Chamber are collaborating closely to support our exporters,” says Regional Councillor Danninger. “We are bundling our knowhow for our entrepreneurs. The business agency Ecoplus and the Lower Austrian Economic Chamber will take care of domestic companies. Services on location are carried out by Advantage Austria, the foreign trade centre of the Economic Chamber. We will close the Ecoplus offices in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Romania. This will save monies and by reducing systemic costs we will be able to pass these savings on to our companies as subsidies. The Province of Lower Austria will also support companies’ first participation in international trade fairs.”

The new export promotion will give Lower Austrian small and medium-sized companies financial aid for their trade fair stalls abroad. They will be able to apply for costs of up to 10,000 euros and the Province will provide 30 percent of these costs. Overall, 500,000 euros have been earmarked for this promotion, giving support to about 150 Lower Austrian companies for their first international trade fair appearance. ◆