Destatis: Detailed results on the gross domestic product in the 2nd quarter of 2010

Gross domestic product, price-adjusted, chain-linked

(figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects using Census X-12-ARIMA)

Changes on a quarter earlier:

As compared with the previous quarter, economic growth (upon price, seasonal and calendar adjustment) was based on both domestic and foreign demand. Capital formation and foreign trade contributed most strongly to the economic recovery. Capital formation in machinery and equipment (+4.4%) as well as in construction (+5.2%) was substantially up on the previous quarter. It should be taken into account, however, that especially capital formation in machinery and equipment is still at a low level following a number of double-digit decreases during the economic crisis 2008/2009. Moreover, the rise in capital formation in construction to some extent reflects catch-up effects from the relatively severe winter.

Compared with the previous quarter, the increase in exports of goods and services (+8.2%) was stronger than in imports (+7.0%), so that the export surplus (balance of exports and imports) contributed 0.8 percentage points to GDP growth. Domestic final consumption expenditure, too, showed a positive development: Household final consumption expenditure rose by 0.6% on the first three months of the year, with government final consumption expenditure also increasing slightly by 0.4%.

The following information refers to the year-on-year comparison:

In a year-on-year comparison, too, price-adjusted GDP grew significantly: In the second quarter of 2010 it was 4.1% higher than in the same quarter a year earlier. Upon calendar adjustment, the GDP showed a 3.7% increase because one additional working day was available in the reference quarter compared to a year earlier.

Gross domestic product, price-adjusted, chain-linked (unadjusted figures)

Changes on a year earlier:

The GDP in the second quarter of 2010 was achieved by some 40.3 million persons in employment, which was an increase of 72,000 persons or 0.2% on a year earlier.

Overall labour productivity (price-adjusted GDP per person in employment) was up by 3.9% in the second quarter 2010 compared with the second quarter 2009. When measured per hour worked by persons in employment, however, provisional results show an increase in labour productivity of only 1.6% because the average number of hours worked per person in employment was higher (+2.3%) than a year earlier. A major reason is that less frequent use was made of short-time work and that the normal weekly working hours and overtime increased slightly.

Price-adjusted gross value added of all economic sectors in the second quarter of 2010 was by 4,4% larger than in the second quarter of 2009. The largest contribution to this growth was made by manufacturing, which accounted for a significant increase of 13.7%. However, manufacturing had also seen the largest decreases in 2009 due to the economic crisis. In a year-on-year comparison, increases were also recorded in construction (+4.4%) and the services sector: Trade, transport and communications rose by 2.3%, other service activities by 1.9% and financial, real-estate, renting and business activities by 1.5%. Only in agriculture, forestry and fishing, price-adjusted gross value added showed a slight decrease (-0.6%) in the second quarter of 2010.

On the use side of the gross domestic product, capital formation and foreign demand were also the major contributors to year-on-year economic growth. In price-adjusted terms, considerably more goods and services were exported abroad than a year ago (+19.1%), while imports rose slightly less (+17.8%). The resulting export surplus (balance of exports and imports) contributed +1.4 percentage points to GDP growth.

From the domestic point of view, the rise in capital formation by general government and enterprises was the main reason for the recovery of the German economy in the second quarter: Capital formation in machinery and equipment grew by 9.5% in price-adjusted terms and capital formation in construction by 5.2% compared with a year earlier. Apart from catch-up effects following the economic crisis and the severe winter, this reflects also the positive impact of the government's economic stimulus packages. As inventories were built up again in the reference quarter (contribution of changes in inventories to GDP growth: +1.4 percentage points), total gross capital formation rose by 16.4% on the second quarter of 2009.

Only final consumption expenditure of households was still down on a year earlier. It fell by 0.7% in price-adjusted terms. This was, among other things, due to declining purchases of motor vehicles, which had been up considerably a year earlier due to the introduction of the so-called scrapping bonus. Price-adjusted expenditure for transport and communications - private purchases of motor vehicles fall under this use category, too - declined by 8.6% on the same period a year earlier. However, government final consumption expenditure increased by 3.1%. As regards domestic uses as a whole, a 2.9% rise was thus recorded compared to the second quarter of 2009.

At current prices, both the gross domestic product and the gross national income were up by 4.9% in the second quarter of 2010 on the same quarter of 2009. The net national income (factor costs), which consists of compensation of employees and property and entrepreneurial income, was up by 8.3%. While compensation of employees increased only by 2.5%, though, a sharp increase was recorded in property and entrepreneurial income (+21.9%). Despite rising social contributions, net wages and salaries of employees were up by 3.9% on a year earlier because income tax to be paid by employees was down for the fifth quarter in a row. The disposable income of households increased by 1.5%. Nominal final consumption expenditure of households rose by 1.2% on the same quarter a year earlier. This resulted in a savings ratio of households of 10.9%, which was 0.3 percentage points more than in the second quarter of 2009 (10.6%).

In addition to the first calculation of data for the second quarter, the results published so far for the last four years (from 2006) were revised at the same time, as is the case every year in August (revision of the seasonally and calendar-adjusted results from 1991).

The current recalculation resulted in rates of change of the unadjusted annual and quarterly GDP figures which differ from the previously published results by up to 0.4 percentage points. The change rates of the seasonally and calendar-adjusted figures were revised, too (by up to 0.3 percentage points). In particular the GDP change rates for the individual quarters and the year 2008, for which results of annual basic statistics became available for the first time, were in part substantially revised downwards. As regards the 2009 year of crisis, however, the development was more favourable than indicated by the previously published results (see press release of 13 August 2010 - 284/10). The comparatively large revisions are attributable to serious fluctuations in the recent short-term economic development, which have made estimations at the most recent end of the time series more difficult.

Such continuous revisions are carried out routinely to integrate newly available statistical information into the calculations. Hence, the GDP calculation is successively put on an ever better founded statistical data basis. The complete basic statistics required for a "final" calculation of national accounting results are available after four years at the latest, so that only then are the results final and do no longer have to be revised on a regular basis.

The above and other national accounts data may be accessed via the internet (www.destatis.de). In addition, more detailed results are published in Fachserie 18 "National Accounts", Series 1.2 "Quarterly results" (order number 2180120) and Series 1.3 "Seasonally adjusted quarterly results using Census X-12-ARIMA and BV 4.1" (order number 2180130). Those publications are available free of charge from the publications service of the Federal Statistical Office. A detailed quality report on national accounts is also available.