According to a survey carried out by the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) in April, business trends in Finnish companies have been gradually cooling down during the winter and early spring. The situation is, however, still described as quite good.

The fall in demand is predicted to continue in the next few months, even if only a few companies expect a drastic turn for the worse. The gentle growth in production will probably continue over the summer. The workforce is also expected to increase in both construction and the service sectors.

There has been a moderate increase in output in most sectors during the first months of the year. A shortage of trained labour is still the most significant obstacle to expanding business in several areas of activity.

Stable development

The balance figure showing the business trend prospects of industrial companies was -5 in April (-6 in January). Strengthening trends were expected by nine percent of the companies in April and stability by 77 per cent.

The balance figure for business trend prospects in construction was now +3 (-15 in January). A strengthening in trends was expected by 13 per cent of respondents. In construction, too, 77 per cent of the companies thought the business trends would remain stable in the next few months.

The balance figure for service companies became -11 (-8 in January). An improvement in business trends was forecast by seven per cent of the respondents. Three-quarters believed that the picture in services, too, would be stable during the summer and autumn.

What is the business trend survey? The business trend survey of the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) is published four times a year. It has been carried out regularly since 1966. The survey in April was answered by 1,115 companies employing about 300,000 people in Finland.

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In the service sector, sales continued to grow during the early year at a relatively good rate. (Photo: City of Helsinki Picture Bank/ Eljas af Hällström)