Austria’s government debt rose again in the third quarter. On September 30, they amounted to EUR 355.5 billion. According to Statistics Austria, the debt was built up to contain the current crisis.
“Austria continued to build up debt in the first three quarters of 2022 to contain the crisis. At the end of September, the national debt amounted to 355.6 billion euros, which is 21.4 billion euros higher than at the beginning of 2022,” said Director General of Statistics Austria, Tobias Thomas. The debt level has now risen mainly thanks to the social security sector. However, short-term financing could regularly lead to strong swings, so this is only a snapshot In previous quarters, the federal sector was responsible for the largest increase in government debt.
Debt ratio down
Government debt assesses the financial position of the government and consists of cash and deposit liabilities, debt securities (also known as bonds), and loans. All in all, economic growth was recorded again in the third quarter and the debt ratio fell from 82.3 percent (Q4 2021) to 81.3 percent (Q3 2022). This is the ratio between government debt and economic output.
The government deficit in the third quarter amounted to 2.1 percent of GDP on a quarterly basis, or 2.3 billion euros. State revenue amounted to 54.3 billion euros. On the other hand, there were expenditures of 56.6 billion euros. Measures intended to compensate for the high energy and inflation costs, such as the climate and anti-inflation bonus, were already noticeable here.
NEOS: Reforms needed
NEOS budget spokeswoman Karin Doppelbauer expressed concern about these figures in a broadcast. “It is 5 to 12 for structural reforms in Austria. If we do nothing, the debt ratio will explode from 2035. The federal government must finally grab the watering can and ensure that the next generations are not swamped by the debt backpack,” she said. Financial support should only be given if it is really necessary.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
