Elisabeth Svantesson: The Swedish economy is moving like a train

The Minister of Finance is currently part of a transitional government and is limited when it comes to coming up with new proposals. But the forecasting machinery in the Ministry of Finance is rolling along as usual and on Thursday came the latest update.

According to Elisabeth Svantesson, the Swedish economy is currently running like a train and the next government will come to "a very beautifully laid table", as she puts it. GDP in Sweden is expected to increase by 3.0 percent this year, an increase of 0.5 percentage points since the last forecast.

- GDP growth is expected to be significantly higher than we previously thought, says Elisabeth Svantesson.

The explanation for the rise is a combination of both companies and households starting to spend more money.

- We are seeing a broad rise. It is good for the Swedish economy that both companies and households have a more positive view of the future, says Elisabeth Svantesson.

The question, however, is how long the rise will last. Uncertainty in the outside world is great and the Riksbank has flagged future interest rate increases. According to the latest forecast, GDP next year will fall to 2.3 percent, which is a downward adjustment compared to the latest forecast.

Unemployment is expected to remain at a high 8.5 percent this year and then drop to 7.7 percent next year.

- We are leaving the recession now and step by step unemployment will be lower, says Elisabeth Svantesson.

The Minister of Finance emphasizes that developments in the Middle East create major uncertainties and it is likely that energy prices will continue to be at a high level.

- We see no solution to this right now and the longer it goes on, the greater the risk that energy prices will continue to be high.

At the government meeting at Harpsund in August, Elisabeth Svantesson announced that the so-called reform space for the coming years will be very small. The assessment then was that it is about SEK 50 billion for the entire mandate period.

- It is an assessment that remains, says Elisabeth Svantesson.