Two workers in a car factory ©Monty Rakusen / Getty Images

Economic activity and prices

In this section, you will find a wealth of important statistics on economic activity and prices for Germany. Also included are selected statistics on foreign economic activity and prices.

Indicators of economic activity include output in the production sector and enterprises’ capacity utilisation. Orders received in the industrial and construction sectors, as well as building permits granted for construction work, play a highly important role as leading indicators of future economic developments. Data on the path of sales are published for industrial sectors and for retail trade, which reflects part of household consumption.

In addition, data on employment and the labour market as well as on labour productivity, labour costs and gross wages and salaries are presented.

The data on price statistics track the path from import prices via industrial producer prices in domestic sales all the way to consumer prices. Consumer price indices measure the average price change of all goods and services that are bought by households for consumption purposes. The annual rate of change in the consumer price index is generally used as a measure of inflation.

Selected data on real estate price movements and prices for construction work are also shown here. 

Seasonally adjusted figures have proven a useful tool for conducting economic analyses. For more information, please consult methodology and quality under the respective statistics.