NHO: Slightly brighter outlook for companies

This is shown by NHO’s member survey, which was presented on Friday.

19 percent of the members expect that things will move towards better times, up 1 percentage point from the previous survey. Correspondingly, somewhat fewer respond that they expect a deterioration in the future. 19 percent think it will get worse, down 3 percentage points from the survey in June.

Although several are now optimistic, there is still a majority of companies that expect a weakening in the future, points out chief economist Øystein Dørum at NHO.

It is within the construction industry where most people view the prospects dimly, followed by the electrical industry. The most optimism is found in the oil and gas industry in Offshore Norway, the knowledge and technology companies in Abelia and in Finance Norway.

The construction industry stands out

The survey also measures how the member companies assess the situation today. Here, too, the construction industry clearly stands out in a negative direction.

– NHO Byggenæring is the only national association with a majority that states the current situation as bad, summarizes Dørum from the July figures.

There is thus still a large stretch in the team. While Finans Norge and Offshore Norway have a solid preponderance of companies who answer that the current situation is good, only 15 percent answer the same within the construction industry. 39 per cent of these members describe the situation today as bad.

Overall, one in four member companies (25 per cent) describe the current situation as good. It is the same level as in June.

20 percent answer “poorly” to the question of how the general market situation is today. It is down 1 percentage point from the previous measurement.

Future faith in the north

For the situation here and now, there is a preponderance of optimists in eleven out of 15 counties, according to the survey. The situation is weakest in Agder and Østfold, while Telemark, Rogaland and Nordland top the list.

When it comes to the outlook for the next six months, there is a preponderance of pessimism in half of the counties. Østfold, Telemark and Innlandet are at the bottom, while Troms, Finnmark and Nordland have the largest proportion of companies that envision an improvement.

The survey was taken up in the period 26 June-2 July. A total of 1,980 member companies have responded. The figures are unweighted and not seasonally adjusted, says NHO.