The economic recovery in Switzerland continued in the 2nd quarter, driven by the jump in consumer spending, but the creation of value fell slightly in the manufacturing industry.
Gross domestic product (GDP) thus rose by 0.3% compared to the previous quarter.
In annual variation, Switzerland’s GDP grew by 2.8% over the quarter under review, following having increased by 4.7% during the first three months of the year, a figure revised upwards compared to 4.4% announced at the end of May. The return to a normal situation from the health point of view at the beginning of April signaled the end of most of the measures intended to fight once morest the coronavirus, explains Monday the State Secretariat for the Economy (Seco).
A sector very affected by the latter, services particularly benefited from the upturn, with hotels and restaurants recording the strongest growth (+12.4%). International tourism continued its recovery until the end of the 2nd quarter, with the strong increase, in particular, of overnight stays generated by European and American customers. The fact remains that the level of value creation in accommodation and catering nevertheless posted a decline of 10% compared to the pre-crisis period.
In the arts, entertainment and recreational activities sector (+1.4%), value added also increased following the removal of health measures. But there too, production still showed a decline of 17% compared to the situation before the outbreak of the pandemic.
Reflecting the gradual return to mobility of the population, the transport and communications sector also experienced a positive trend (+4.4%), to settle at approximately 3% above its pre- crisis.
Only two branches of services suffered a drop in their production between April and the end of June: financial services (-1.5%) and trade (-2.1%), the latter mainly due to the evolution of trade food retail and wholesale.
The almost general growth of the services sector was accompanied by an increase in exports of services (+5.0%).
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats/awp