Faith in the future flourishes among most Norwegians

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The latest Expectation Barometer carried out for Finans Norge newspaper, showed that optimists are in a majority among all demographic groups of the population.

This is especially true when people are thinking of the country’s economy, which has clearly improved since the previous survey in February.

‘We must go back to the beginning of 2013 to find similar positivity about prospects for the economy in the coming year’ said Director Idar Kreutzer in Finans Norge.

The Expectation Barometer is a quarterly collaboration between Finans Norge and Kantar TNS. The barometer measures Norwegian households’ expectations for their own, and the country’s, economy.

According to the survey, a majority of those over 60 are also feeling positive. This group have been been economic pessimists since 2014.

In South-western Norway, optimism is also rising.

‘This region was hit hardest by the oil industry’s semi-collapse, but the combination of rising oil prices in 2016, government action packages and a business community willing and capable of conversion, now seem to have made a positive impression,’ said Kreuzer.

A fresh business barometer from Sparebank 1, where companies in the region were asked about the future trends, also showed a boost over previous measurements taken.

‘This is good news for an economy that still needs growth and conversion,’ said Kreutzer.

But it’s too early to reinvent the economy, he argued. For although optimism has risen, the measurement also shows that the willingness to make major acquisitions has decreased sharply.

‘The figures probably indicate that there is uncertainty about further development, and if economic growth in Norway is securely in place yet,’ said Kreutzer.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today