Consumer confidence in Finland hits new record high, especially in the North
Consumer confidence in the country in May broke an all-time high, according to fresh figures from Statistic Finland. The figure is the highest it’s been since 1995. The statistics talliers attributed the boost to consumers thinking that unemployment is on the way down, and improved possibilities for households to put away money.
The consumer confidence indicator (CCI) in May reached a record level of 24.1, compared to 21.5 a month ago, according to Statistics Finland.
Consumer confidence in May was strongest in the capital region and in northern Finland. Salaried workers were most optimistic, while pensioners and the unemployed had the gloomiest expectations about the economy, according to Statistics Finland.
However, the agency said, consumer views about their own finances weakened slightly and their expectations about the Finnish economy remained virtually unchanged compared to the previous month.
During the month of May just over half of consumers in Finland, some 52 percent, said they think Finland’s economy will improve over the next year, while nine percent said the economy would likely worsen. Those same projections a year ago in May were 39 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
Twenty seven percent of consumers in May said they think their own finances would improve within a year’s time, with 12 percent saying they feared their finances would worsen during that period. A year ago those figures were roughly the same; at 26 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
Unemployment fears down
Just under half of consumers in Finland in May, some 47 percent, said they think unemployment would decrease during the next 12 months, while 16 percent said they thought it would increase.
Some 19 percent of consumers said they thought their personal threat of unemployment had decreased over the past few months, while 14 percent said they thought the threat had increased.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Nunavut gears up for increase in Arctic tourism, Radio Canada International
Finland: Finnish economy steadily growing : Ministry of Finance, Yle News
Iceland: High peak in low season, Iceland’s mass-tourism boiling over, The Independent Barents Observer
Norway: Longer runway for bigger planes in Kirkenes, northern Norway, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development wants 210 billion rubles for Arctic regions, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Northern Sweden cities on shortlist for battery gigafactory, The Independent Barents Observer
United States: Inuit organization plans economic development across national boundaries, Alaska Dispatch News
