Northern Norrland – Sweden's economic engine
Northern Norrland continues to resist the economic downturn. The region is Sweden's economic engine right now, while the big cities are losing momentum. This is shown by Nordea's annual economic report Regional Outlook.
– The differences are unusually large and will increase further in the coming years, says Susanne Spector, chief analyst at Nordea, to TT.
Nordea notes that northern Norrland experienced a brief downturn but that things have already turned around. Large green industrial investments, the raw materials market and investments in defense are contributing to the upturn.
- The outlook is best in the northern parts of the country, says Susanne Spector in Nordea's press release.
Of the eight regions that Nordea reviewed, Northern Norrland is the only one that has a positive GRP (gross regional product) this year, and the forecast is that it will be about the same next year. At the bottom are West Sweden and South Sweden.
Next year, the economic downturn is expected to hit employment in southern Sweden. The labor market will shrink the most in the metropolitan regions, while northern Sweden continues to have a labor shortage.
What is worrying for northern Norrland is that construction starts have fallen by almost 60% since 2021.
From the report
- GRP is expected to increase by 3,0% from 2022 to 2025 - the highest in the country
- Unemployment: 3,9%, lowest in the country
- Service sector signals continued bright prospects
- The labor market is expected to continue growing