Three estimates were made and still the final result was a minus. Again. The gross domestic product in the euro zone fell by 0.1 percent compared to the previous quarter, Eurostat announced last Thursday. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the euro economy had also shrunk by 0.1 percent. Here, too, the data were revised after stagnation had previously been identified. Thus, the entire eurozone is in a "technical recession," following the dominant imperialist power of the EU.
Meanwhile, the signs in Germany itself continue to point to crisis: German industry surprisingly had to put up with another drop in orders in April. Orders fell by 0.4 percent compared with the previous month. However, an increase of around 3.0 percent had been expected, after last March had seen a slump of almost 11 percent - the biggest drop in orders in years.
According to the ifo Institute, the construction industry is currently experiencing a sharp increase in short-time work. Its share rose from 0.2 (in February) to 0.5 percent (in May) of workers. The construction industry, which is suffering from a decline in orders, tripled the number of short-time workers. High interest rates and material costs have made many construction projects unprofitable, and sales are slumping accordingly.
The outlook for the auto industry is also gloomy at present. Germany's biggest monopolist is facing the "biggest restructuring in decades". Difficulties in sales arise for VW not only in China, but also in the U.S. and especially in Europe.
"Despite the slump in March, new orders did not recover in April, contrary to expectations," commented Commerzbank chief economist Jörg Krämer. "The technical recession in the winter half-year was not an aberration." A continuation of the recession is thus to be expected for Q2 2023 as well, he said.
But even then, the crisis will not be over. Handelsblatt Research Institute President Bert Rürup said, "Overall economic performance will ... decline noticeably this year." In addition, "a tenacious slowdown in growth will follow the recession." What is remarkable to many economists is how long German imperialism has been in this current economic crisis.
In contrast to most other EU economies, Germany's overall economic performance in the first quarter of 2023 was noticeably lower than at the end of 2019. According to the current HRI forecast, even at the end of 2024 it is only likely to just reach the pre-Corona level. At least five years of permanent crisis. There has never been such a long period of overall economic stagnation in the history of the Federal Republic. Even in the first two decades of this millennium, real GDP grew by one percent per year.
Germany is also the OECD's biggest problem child when it comes to growth. The OECD sees Germany as bringing up the rear among the imperialists in terms of economic growth - only just ahead of Russia. The OECD lowered its forecast for Germany by 0.3 percentage points. At best, it expects the German economy to stagnate this year.
Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing recently stated that at least 30 percent of people would no longer be able to meet their normal expenses from their income alone, but would have to go to their savings. Fortunate for those who actually still have savings.
