Consumer confidence in Finnish economy improved in November

The confidence of Finnish consumers in the economy saw a slight improvement in November, although it remains in negative numbers, which show that the general perception of the country's performance is still pessimistic.

The consumer confidence indicator (CCI) stood at -4.8 in November, having been -6.9 in October and -5.9 in September. In last year’s November the CCI received the value -5.0.

The data are based on Statistics Finland’s Consumer Confidence Survey, to which 1,157 persons resident in Finland responded.

Of the four components of the CCI, expectations concerning consumers’ own and Finland’s economy improved slightly from October, although they were still gloomy. In contrast, views on consumers’ own economy at present weakened. In addition, consumers’ intentions to spend money on durable goods decreased slightly.

Compared with the corresponding period last year, the components of the CCI turned slightly for the worse in November apart from expectations of Finland’s economy.

Source: Statistics Finland.

Unemployment

Consumers' expectations concerning the development of the general unemployment situation also improved clearly in November but were still on a gloomy level.

This is also the case for estimates of the personal threat of unemployment or lay-off experienced by employed consumers, that is, wage and salary earners and self-employed persons at the time of the survey.

Consumers' estimates of the growth rate of consumer prices in the coming months for a change fell slightly in November.

In November, consumers considered their own financial situation to be still excellent. The time was no longer considered very favourable for saving, and at the same time, it was considered poor for buying durable goods and especially for taking out a loan. However, many were still going to take out a loan in November and had plans of buying or renovating their homes or buying a car.

Confidence by population group

In November, consumers' confidence in the economy was strongest in Greater Helsinki (-1.7) and elsewhere in Southern Finland (-1.6). Among population groups, upper-level salaried employees were most optimistic (2.3).

The most pessimistic expectations concerning economic development were found among self-employed people (-12.1) and pensioners (-11.7). Among the unemployed, the confidence indicator received the value -8.5.

Consumer confidence usually decreases with the person’s age, and correspondingly the confidence typically increases as income grows. Men are likely to have better confidence in the economy than women, Statistics Finland says.