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10102
Large drop in the mainland economy
statistikk
2009-05-19T10:00:00.000Z
National accounts and business cycles
en
knr, National accounts, gross domestic product, GDP, value added, gross product by industry, gross investments, household consumption, consumption in non-profit organisations, public consumption, material production, service production, export, import, wage costs, employment, man-hours, oil investments, mainland NorwayNational accounts , National accounts and business cycles
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National accounts, March 2009

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Large drop in the mainland economy

Preliminary figures show that the gross domestic product (GDP) for Mainland Norway fell clearly for the second quarter in a row. The drop from the previous quarter was 1.0 per cent in the 1st quarter, while the 4th quarter has been revised downwards to -0.8 per cent.

Gross fixed capital formation and consumption. Seasonally adjusted. Volume indices. 2006=100

Gross domestic product. Seasonally adjusted. Volume indices. 2006=100

Manufacturing production had a turnaround in the second half of 2008, and the decrease in output magnified in the 1s t quarter. The activity was lower in large parts of manufacturing in the 1s t quarter, but production of basic metals and wood and wood products made a particularly strong contribution to the decrease. The drop in these industries can among other things be related to reduced exports and lower construction activity. The activity in other goods and service producing industries was also markedly lower. Electricity production fell sharply in the 1s t quarter, and contributed by 1/4 percentage points to the overall decline. Service production was mainly pulled down by business services and wholesale and retail trade.

Value added in general government grew slowly from the 4t h to the 1s t quarter. Civilian central government was up by 0.2 per cent, the growth in local government production was 0.5 per cent, while defence was down by 0.4 per cent.

Total GDP fell by 0.4 per cent from the 4t h to the 1s t quarter. High oil and gas-related exploration activity in the first quarter contributed strongly to the lower decrease in total GDP than in mainland GDP.

Greater uncertainty than normal
Due to Easter falling in the second quarter this year as opposed to the first quarter last year, the uncertainty in the seasonally-adjusted figures is higher than normal
Gross domestic product 4th quarter 2007-1st quarter 2009. Percentage change in volume from the previous period (seasonally adjusted)
 
  2007 2008 4th quarter 2007 1st quarter 2008 2nd quarter 2008 3rd quarter 2008 4th quarter 2008 1st quarter 2009
 
Gross domestic product (GDP) 3.1      2.1 1.4 0.4 0.1 -0.8 0.8 -0.4
GDP Mainland-Norway 6.1 2.6 1.3 0.5 0.3 0.1 -0.8 -1.0
Petroleum activities and ocean transport -4.9 0.8 1.9 0.1 -0.4 -3.4 5.9 1.1
Final domestic use of goods and services 5.0 3.3 3.2 0.4 -0.1 0.2 -1.6 0.0
Final consumption exp. of households 6.1 1.3 1.6 0.3 -0.6 -1.0 -0.6 -0.2
Final consumption exp. of general government 3.4 3.8 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.2 1.2 1.6
Gross fixed capital formation 8.4 3.9 3.3 -2.3 -0.4 2.0 -0.1 -6.9
Exports 2.5 1.4 1.1 0.2 -0.4 -1.4 2.2 -4.7
Imports 7.5 4.4 6.0 0.2 -1.3 1.0 -3.8 -5.9
                 
Total employed 4.1 3.1 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.5 -0.3 -0.5
Total man-hours worked 4.4 3.4 1.2 0.9 0.6 0.4 -0.5 -0.8
 

Decrease in household consumption levelling out

For the fifth quarter in succession, household consumption of goods decreased, and once again consumption of cars contributed most to the drop. Total household consumption was down 0.2 per cent in the1s t quarter, 0.6 per cent in the 4t h quarter and 1.0 per cent in the 3r d quarter.

Final consumption expenditure of general government was up 1.6 per cent due to increased consumption in both central and local government, while defence consumption was unchanged.

Big drop in manufacturing investments

Investments in the mainland industries showed a strong decrease. Gross fixed capital formation in Mainland Norway excluding general government was down 7.3 per cent from the 4t h to the 1s t quarter. Gross fixed capital formation in manufacturing was down 28.1 per cent. The strong fall must be seen in connection with the very high investment level in the last two years - which peaked in the 4t h quarter last year - as well as the generally difficult economic situation. Reduced investments in chemical manufacturing contributed most to the drop.

Household investments in dwellings were down 2.6 per cent in the 1s t quarter, while preliminary figures for gross fixed capital formation in general government were down 9.1 per cent. Gross fixed capital formation in oil and gas extraction was slightly up in the 1s t quarter, and with that total investments were down by 6.9 per cent.

Reduced foreign trade

Both exports and imports were down from the 4t h to the 1s t quarter. On the exports side, manufacturing products and electricity contributed most to the drop. Exports of traditional goods were down 7.3 per cent in the 1s t quarter. The reduction in imports was mainly due to motor vehicles and manufacturing products. Imports of traditional goods were down 3.6 per cent in the 1s t quarter.

Reduced employment

The employment reduction from the 4t h quarter continued in the 1s t quarter. Preliminary calculations show that the number of employed persons was down by 0.5 per cent in the 1s t quarter and 0.3 per cent in the 4t h quarter. Total hours worked were down 0.8 per cent in the 1s t quarter.

During the last year, the number of persons temporarily not at work - due to for instance reduced economic activity - has increased significantly. In the national accounts this group is included in the number of employed persons. Persons who are temporarily not at work do for obvious reasons, however, not contribute with hours worked.

Revisions of 2008

The quarterly figures for 2008 have been revised due to the incorporation of new statistics. The annual growth in GDP is revised up by 0.1 percentage points and the GDP for Mainland Norway is revised up by 0.2 percentage points.

 

The unadjusted 4t h quarter figures for the GDP for Mainland Norway are revised down by 0.1 percentage points. The development in the figures throughout the year, however, has changed somewhat. Compared to the previous release, the seasonally-adjusted 1s t quarter figure has been revised up, while the other quarters have been revised down. For the 4t h quarter, the seasonally-adjusted GDP for Mainland Norway has been revised from -0.2 to -0.8.
Revised figures of final expenditure and gross domestic product. Percentage change in volume
 
  2008 1st quarter 2008 2nd quarter 2008 3rd quarter 2008 4th quarter 2008
  New result Former result Seasonally adjusted figures Unadjusted figures Seasonally adjusted figures Unadjusted figures Seasonally adjusted figures Unadjusted figures Seasonally adjusted figures Unadjusted figures
  Percentage change in volume from the previous period Percentage change in volume from the same period in the previous year Percentage change in volume from the previous period Percentage change in volume from the same period in the previous year Percentage change in volume from the previous period Percentage change in volume from the same period in the previous year Percentage change in volume from the previous period Percentage change in volume from the same period in the previous year
  New result Former result New result Former result New result Former result New result Former result New result Former result New result Former result New result Former result New result Former result
 
Gross domestic product (GDP) 2.1 2.0 0.4 0.0 1.3 1.3 0.1 0.1 5.5 5.2 -0.8 -0.7 1.2 0.8 0.8 1.3 0.7 0.8
GDP Mainland Norway 2.6 2.4 0.5 -0.3 1.4 1.4 0.3 0.5 6.6 6.2 0.1 0.3 2.2 1.7 -0.8 -0.2 0.3 0.4
Household final consumtion expenditure 1.3 1.4 0.3 0.1 2.9 3.0 -0.6 -0.4 3.3 3.4 -1.0 -0.7 0.7 0.8 -0.6 -0.5 -1.5 -1.3
Final consumption of general government 3.8 3.7 0.7 0.8 0.4 0.4 0.9 0.8 7.7 7.6 1.2 1.3 3.4 3.3 1.2 1.0 3.9 3.6
Gross fixed capital formation 3.9 3.3 -2.3 -3.6 9.1 8.8 -0.4 -0.1 5.6 5.5 2.0 2.0 2.9 3.1 -0.1 -0.9 -0.9 -2.7
Exports 1.4 0.9 0.2 -0.3 1.1 0.6 -0.4 -0.9 4.4 4.0 -1.4 -1.1 -0.7 -1.0 2.2 2.1 0.7 0.1
Imports 4.4 4.2 0.2 -1.4 6.9 7.0 -1.3 -0.7 9.0 9.1 1.0 2.2 6.0 6.4 -3.8 -4.7 -3.6 -4.6
 
GDP figures for some of our trade partners, seasonally adjusted
 
  Percentage change in volume from the previous quarter
  2007 2008 2009
  1st quarter 2nd quarter 3rd quarter 4th quarter 1st quarter 2nd quarter 3rd quarter 4th quarter 1st quarter
 
Sweden 0.3 0.8 0.3 1.5 -0.6 -0.5 -1.0 -2.4 ..
Denmark 1.1 -1.1 1.7 0.3 -1.2 0.3 -0.8 -1.9 ..
Finland 1.3 0.8 0.5 1.5 -0.3 0.1 -0.3 -1.3 ..
Germany 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.3 1.5 -0.5 -0.5 -2.2 -3.8
France 0.7 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.4 -0.4 -0.2 -1.5 -1.2
UK 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.9 0.3 0.0 -0.7 -1.6 -1.9
USA 0.0 1.2 1.2 0.0 0.2 0.7 -0.1 -1.6 -1.6
Norway 0.6 0.4 1.2 1.4 0.4 0.1 -0.8 0.8 -0.4
 

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