Students are the most optimistic about the economy, while overall consumer confidence has remained level in June, according to statistics published by Statistics Finland today.
The overall consumer confidence indicator (CCI) in Finland has stayed at -8.8, the same figure as in May. It's still lower than the -7.9 recorded in April this year.
Students were the only demographic with a positive outlook on future finances, with a CCI of 1.1. Mortgage lender Hypo's economist Juho Keskinen believes this is due to the increased interest from young entrepreneurs and students in buying a property, which has been boosted by the drop in housing prices.
"Young people's chances to get their own home and work in their own field are actually at a record-high at the moment, which is reflected in improved consumer confidence and strong trust in their own household's financial future," mortgage lender Hypo's economist Juho Keskinen said in a press release.
The lowest confidence (-20.1) was recorded amongst pensioners. Nearly a third of survey respondents said they believe their financial situation is worse than 12 months ago, but more than one in five thought it will improve in the next year.
Two in three respondents said they believed that the Finnish economic situation is worse than it was a year ago, and one in three believed it will get worse in the next year.
The figures are based on the 994 responses collected as part of the consumer confidence survey between 1 June and 15 June.
Business confidence drops
In the business sector, confidence figures fell in June, driven by soaring interest rates and the global financial situation, according to the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK).
Business confidence surged significantly in the construction sector, while in the service sector confidence remained level. Overall, business confidence has been on the decline for the last 18 months.
”As both business and consumer financing costs continue to rise due to higher interest rates, buying services are safer than at more uncertain times. At the same time, the supply-chain-dependent construction and industrial sectors which require a lot of capital have faced ever higher costs," Keskinen from Hypo said.