The economic confidence of Finnish consumers and industries showed a cautious upward trend, indicated Statistics Finland and other record trackers on Monday.
Statistics Finland said on Monday that all the components of their Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) strengthened in June compared with them in May. Although consumers' views on Finland's economic development were still weak, views on consumers' own economy were nearly in line with the long-term average views, which is a positive signal. Besides, consumption intentions were quite promising in June, Statistics Finland said.
The Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) said on Monday the confidence about future in the industries improved slightly from May. "But it remains clearly below long-term average," the Confederation noted in a media release. Both the retail sector and services kept on improving, but the confidence in construction sector declined.
Sami Pakarinen, the chief economist of EK, underlined that for the export industries "the worst is still ahead" as the number of new orders has declined.
In addition, the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment told national broadcaster Yle on Monday the number of people furloughed has now come down from 168,000 in mid-May to 133,000.
In Finland, the furlough system allows employees to go on unemployment compensation without losing their jobs. The 90-day maximum furlough limit is approaching for many. If people are not called back to work, mandated staff talks will be required for further furloughing.
Source: Xinhua |
