Despite relatively high inflation rates, private consumer spending (+0.7%) again increased above average in the third quarter. In particular, spending was up on housing and energy, leisure and travel, and non-food purchases. The value added in the retail trade increased accordingly; likewise, trade as a whole (+2.3%) again registered substantial growth after a run of four negative quarters. The accommodation and food services sector (+2.8%) continued to recover from the pandemic-related slump, buoyed by an upturn in international tourism among other things. Other service sectors such as healthcare (+0.7%) and business-related services (+0.6%) also registered a significant increase in value added. In contrast, value added in the financial services sector declined (−4.4%).

Investments in equipment (+2.1%) were another contributory factor to the robust growth in domestic final demand (+0.6%). Some easing in international supply bottlenecks allowed for extensive investment in vehicles; there was also an increase in investment in IT, in particular. In line with the pick-up in domestic demand, there was also a sharp rise in imports (+4.9%).**Construction investment (−2.0%) contracted yet again – the only component of domestic demand to do so – and with that also the value added in the construction industry (−2.2%). Turnover was down in building construction in particular but also in civil engineering and other construction site work.

In manufacturing (−0.2%), value added dipped slightly in the third quarter. While the chemical and pharmaceutical industry returned to substantial growth after two negative quarters, other sectors were increasingly being held back by a challenging international environment. The more cyclical industrial sectors experienced a downturn in value added, as reflected in declining exports of machinery and metals, for example. The nonetheless strong growth in total exports*** (+5.9%) is largely explained by a sharp increase in transit trade.

* Quarter-on-quarter growth rates in real terms. Adjusted for sporting events, GDP grew by the same 0.2% in the third quarter and by 0.1% in the second quarter. Further information on quarterly GDP can be found in Konjunkturtendenzen (Economic situation in Switzerland) at www.seco.admin.ch/gdp.
** Goods and services excluding valuables. Adjusted for sporting events: +4.6%.
*** Goods and services excluding valuables. Adjusted for sporting events: +5.8%.

Gross domestic product in the third quarter of 2022: growth underpinned by domestic economy