Finnish companies’ outlooks have darkened in all the main sectors, according to an April business tendency survey of the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) released on Wednesday.
“There still is ample demand in many areas, but uncertainty about the future and a strong rise in costs is making the operating environment significantly worse,’’ Sami Pakarinen, director at the EK.
The leading business organisation in Finland, said in a statement released.
The Ukraine crisis was reflected especially in construction, where the situation has deteriorated quickly.
The construction confidence indicator scored -4 in April, which was seven points less than the revised figure in March.
The availability of materials, in particular, was now a major issue, and it was also a significant problem in manufacturing, said Pakarinen.
Production and sales increased in all main sectors during the spring.
As a whole, employment projections were also good.
A third of the companies reported recruitment issues.
The manufacturing confidence indicator remained unchanged from March’s figure.
Confidence was +15 in April, according to the survey.
“As a result of the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, outlooks in various service sectors have also changed.
“The tourism and restaurant sector is now more confident with respect to the future.
“On the other hand, logistics and trade outlooks have deteriorated as consumer uncertainty has increased,’’ Pakarinen said.
“In the service sectors, problems regarding the availability of labour have further intensified.
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“In construction, employment projections have become subdued,’’ he noted.
The service sector confidence indicator scored +11 in April, which was one point less than the revised figure in March.
