Statistics Norway said in a report released Friday that Norway’s economy is set to pick up in the coming years and that workers will benefit as a result.
“Now the arrows are pointing upwards in many areas. Activity in the Norwegian economy will probably pick up, as a result of increased real wage growth, high activity in public administration, as well as a turnaround in housing investment,” Thomas von Brasch at Statistics Norway said in the report.
The report was a forecast on the country’s economy up until 2027. The data agency said that workers in Norway would benefit from a real wage increase of 1.9 percent this year.
Forecasted real wage growth for this year would be the highest in more than ten years, as real pay in Norway has been largely stagnant since 2015. There was also more good news for consumers, as real wages are expected to grow by around 1.5 percent per year until 2027.
Further good news for those hoping for more disposal income in the future could come in the form of interest rate cuts early next year. Statistics Norway expects the central bank to cut the key policy rate in March 2025.
The reason rates likely won’t be cut before then is due to the weak Norwegian krone.
“Norges Bank will probably try to avoid the krone weakening further. The central bank will probably wait with the interest rate cuts until after other central banks have cut their interest rates a good deal. The recent weakening of the krone means that the key interest rate will only be cut from the beginning of next year,” Brasch said.
However, the report wasn’t all good news. Inflation in Norway was likely to remain above the central bank’s target of 2 percent for this year, at least.
There was also bad news for those looking to get on the property ladder as house prices were expected to rise in the coming years. Although, high interest rates would dampen prices somewhat.
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