Gross domestic product in the 2nd quarter of 2016

Bern, 06.09.2016 - Switzerland's real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter of 2016*. Positive contributions to GDP came from foreign trade as well as government consumption, while household consumption expenditure stagnated, and investment in construction and equipment fell slightly. On the production side of GDP, growth was broadly based across sectors. The biggest boosts came from the energy sector, government-related sectors and other services. In comparison to the 2nd quarter of 2015, real GDP grew by 2.0%.

Consumption expenditure of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) remained unchanged in the 2nd quarter. The healthcare sector provided the most substantial contribution to growth. General government consumption grew robustly in the 2nd quarter (1.7%).

Investment in equipment fell (-0.9%) after a positive previous quarter. The machinery and other transport equipment categories slowed most notably. Investment in construction also declined slightly (-0.3%).

Exports of goods (excluding non-monetary gold, valuables and merchanting) rose by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter of 2016. The chemicals/pharmaceuticals category provided the strongest contribution to growth, while in particular the precision tools/watches/jewellery and machinery/appliances/electronics categories had a negative impact. Imports of goods (excluding non-monetary gold and valuables) rose by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter of 2016, with the chemicals/pharmaceuticals category showing the highest growth. Imports in the vehicles and precision tools/watches/jewellery categories fell.

Exports of services fell slightly (-0.1%), and service imports recorded a 1.1% decline.

On the production side of GDP, growth was broadly spread across most sectors. The highest rates of growth appeared in the energy sector (5.8%), the education sector (2.0%) and, after a few negative quarters, the hotel and catering industry (2.5%). Healthcare and social work (1.0%), public administration (0.8%) and other services (0.8%) also showed growth. By contrast, manufacturing recorded a slight fall (-0.1%) following three positive quarters.

On the expenditure side of GDP, only a few deflators were still in decline. The deflator for private household consumption fell by 0.3% in comparison to the 2nd quarter of 2015, while that for investment in equipment climbed by 0.6%. The deflator for exports of goods (excluding non-monetary gold, valuables and merchanting) recorded a decline of 1.4%, and that for exports of services fell by 0.6%. Import price trends returned to positive territory. The deflator for imports of goods (excluding non-monetary gold and valuables) showed a positive rate of growth for the first time in three years (0.8%) and that for imports of services also increased (0.4%). The GDP deflator fell by 0.7% compared with the 2nd quarter of 2015.

*Unless stated otherwise, the percentage changes with respect to the previous quarter (not annualised) listed here are calculated in real terms on the basis of chained, seasonally and calendar-adjusted values according to X-13ARIMA-SEATS. "Real" is used as an abbreviation for the formulation "data at previous year’s prices, chained values with reference year 2010". The official terminology also uses the phrase "volume changes". The development of the price indices is commented using comparisons with the previous year, which are based on the changes in the original figures (before seasonal and calendar adjustments).

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