Cover of the 2019 Annual Economic Report

The German economy remains on an upwards trajectory in 2019. This means that the upswing has now lasted for ten years without interruption. For this year, the Federal Government is expecting a rise of 1.0% in price-adjusted GDP. The unemployment rate is expected to drop to 4.9%, whilst the number of people in work rises further to 45.2 million. Overall, Germany’s economic development remains positive, but it has entered more troubled waters. The risks, primarily from the external economic environment, have increased. This is a reason why the pace of growth is slower than it was last year.

In the Report entitled “Strengthening the social market economy – leveraging potential for growth, boosting competitiveness”, the Federal Government presents central priority fields of economic and fiscal policy. It also assesses the measures taken in 2018 and provides an overview of this year’s macroeconomic development. The German version of the Annual Economic Report also contains an Annex which provides a detailed inventory of the measures taken since the submission of the 2018 Annual Economic Report as well as the measures planned for 2019.