Norwegians show record-strong confidence in personal economy

Norwegians have not had this much faith in their personal economy in more than 20 years. "People's faith in their personal economy is record-strong," says CEO of Finance Norway, Idar Kreutzer.

The expectation survey, a cooperation between TNS Gallup and Finance Norway, measures Norwegians' confidence in their personal and national economy each quarter.

The survey for the third quarter of 2014 shows that the faith Norwegians have in their personal economy for 2015 has never been greater than it is now. One has to go all the way back to 1992 to find a comparable result.

"We can look back on several years with a strong growth in Norwegians' disposable income, and projections for the future are positive. Low interest rates, wage settlements that result in an increase in real wages, and higher property prices all make the confidence people have in their own personal economy realistic," says Idar Kreutzer, CEO of Finance Norway.

However, even though people show strong faith in their economy, the survey also shows that more people plan to save money. According to Kreutzer, Norwegians willingness to save is currently at its highest since 1994. Statistics Norway reports that Norwegians save ten percent of their disposable income. 

Kreutzer points to three possible reasons why people choose to save more: "When we achieve more financial freedom we like to save them for a time when we may need them. There is also uncertainty in the international economy that people hear about, as well as high unemployment. And the third reason is that Norwegians have relatively high mortages, and we use our spending power to downsize our debt. After all, this is a healthy adjustment, Kreutzer concludes. 

Around 1,000 individuals were interviewed in the survey. 

(NRK)

Source: www.norwaypost.no, 26 August 2014