Regional network

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Region Inland

Summary

• There is solid growth in demand and output in the region. Growth has picked up in manufacturing and corporate services but has slowed somewhat in retail trade.
• Growth is solid in the manufacturing sector and strongest in domestically oriented manufacturing. Suppliers to the building industry report the sharpest increase in demand.
• Activity continues to increase in building and construction, but growth is moderating. Growth is stronger in the commercial building sector, e.g. buildings for retail trade, the public sector and tourism, than in residential construction.
• Retail trade reports somewhat weaker growth than in the previous round. Some retail sectors report increased competition from cross-border trade. Rising sales of sporting goods and automotive products contributed to solid growth in this round.
• All sectors of the service industry report solid growth, broadly in line with the previous rounds. Growth is solid to strong in commercial and financial services, tourism and the media sector.
• The outlook for the next 6 months indicates continued solid growth in most industries. Manufacturing growth is expected to level off due in part to expectations of weaker growth in building and construction and uncertainty regarding export market developments.
• Investment is rising in manufacturing and the local government sector and falling somewhat in the service industry.
• In this round, 58% of the companies report that they would have some or considerable difficulty in accommodating an expected or unexpected increase in demand, while 38% report that labour shortages would be a constraint on production if demand increased. In the previous round, the percentages were 51% and 33% respectively.
• Employment has increased in the past three months, particularly in the service industry. Expectations of employment growth in the period ahead are related in particular to this sector. The fact that a number of companies' explicitly make reservations about being able to secure personnel with the necessary qualifications is an indication of labour supply constraints.
• Projections for wage growth are somewhat higher than in the previous round and are now at 4%-5%, which is also higher than at this time last year. Projections for wage growth in manufacturing, retail trade and the local government sector have increased since the previous round.
• As in the previous round, the rise in selling prices is solid. Compared with the previous round, the rise in prices has accelerated in building and construction and domestically oriented manufacturing, but has slowed in corporate services. There is a strong rise in prices in building and construction.
• Overall, expectations indicate a stable rise in prices during the next 12 months. Building and construction and other services expect a continued strong rise in prices. Increased wage growth is contributing to expectations of a higher rise in prices, while expectations of somewhat weaker developments are supported by the fact that considerable price increases have already been implemented.
• Profitability is improving in all industries as a result of increased volume and higher prices for many goods and services.