Finland\u2019s lowest-income households are expected to face another decline in purchasing power in 2026, while the country\u2019s highest earners continue to see gains, highlighting a widening gap across income groups.<\/p>\n
New analysis from the Labour Institute for Economic Research (Labore) estimates that purchasing power among the lowest-income 10% of Finnish households will fall by 3.5% in 2026.<\/p>\n
By contrast, purchasing power among the highest-income 10% is projected to increase by 2.2%.<\/p>\n
Labore said the difference in purchasing-power growth between the two groups over the 2023\u20132026 period exceeds 16 percentage points.<\/p>\n
Renters and single-parent households are also expected to experience some of the weakest developments in purchasing power.<\/p>\n
\u201cPurchasing power among the lowest income households has deteriorated for several years, and that trend won\u2019t reverse in 2026,\u201d Labore senior researcher Milla Nyyss\u00f6l\u00e4 said.<\/p>\n
According to Nyyss\u00f6l\u00e4, differences in income growth, rather than changes in prices alone, are a major reason for the widening gap between households.<\/p>\n
Labore described the continued decline among lower-income households as unusual compared with previous economic cycles in Finland.<\/p>\n
The figures come as consumer confidence in Finland has declined after improving in previous months.<\/p>\n
Statistics Finland reported that its consumer confidence indicator fell to -4.9 in September, compared with -3.0 in August.<\/p>\n
Although September\u2019s reading was better than the -6.6 recorded a year earlier, it remained below Finland\u2019s long-term average of -2.9 since 1995.<\/p>\n
The latest survey covered 1,157 people living in Finland and was conducted from September 1 to 17.<\/p>\n
Consumers expressed weaker views of both their own household finances and the broader Finnish economy.<\/p>\n
About 28% of respondents said their household finances were worse than a year earlier, while 25% reported an improvement.<\/p>\n
Half of those surveyed said Finland\u2019s economy had deteriorated over the previous year, compared with 18% who believed it had strengthened.<\/p>\n
Statistics Finland senior actuary Pertti Kangassalo said consumer confidence had also weakened across the European Union.<\/p>\n
He said the coming months would indicate whether the September decline represented a temporary setback or the beginning of a broader slowdown in the recovery of consumer sentiment.<\/p>\n
Concerns about the labour market remain another source of pressure on Finnish households.<\/p>\n
Some 44% of respondents expected unemployment in Finland to increase during the coming year, while only 25% expected unemployment to decline.<\/p>\n
Among employed respondents, 27% said their personal risk of becoming unemployed or being temporarily laid off had increased.<\/p>\n
The persistent concern over employment is contributing to cautious household spending decisions.<\/p>\n
Only 15% of respondents considered September a favourable time to make expensive purchases.<\/p>\n
Over the next year, 37% said they planned to reduce spending on durable goods, while just 13% expected to spend more.<\/p>\n
Car purchases were one notable exception.<\/p>\n
Statistics Finland reported that 17% of respondents said they definitely or possibly planned to buy a car within the next 12 months. That was the highest level recorded since 2021.<\/p>\n
Borrowing plans also showed some increase despite widespread concerns about taking out loans.<\/p>\n
About 19% of respondents said they planned to borrow money during the coming year.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, 12% were considering buying or building a home, while 17% planned to carry out home renovations.<\/p>\n
The latest figures point to an uneven economic picture in Finland, with higher-income households retaining greater spending power while lower-income groups continue to face financial pressure and consumers overall remain cautious about the economic outlook.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Finland\u2019s lowest-income households are expected to face another decline in purchasing power in 2026, while the country\u2019s highest earners continue to see gains, highlighting a widening gap across income groups. New analysis from the Labour Institute for Economic Research (Labore) estimates that purchasing power among the lowest-income 10% of Finnish households will fall by 3.5%<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":15746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3558452337540614_100649324928663":"","twitter_1160854738579181570_1160854738579181570":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,16,41],"tags":[3595,371,1068,3594,3598,2315,3596,3593,3597,1257],"class_list":["post-15744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general-news","category-business","category-market","tag-consumer-confidence","tag-economy","tag-finland","tag-household-income","tag-labore","tag-labour-market","tag-low-income-households","tag-purchasing-power","tag-statistics-finland","tag-unemployment"],"yoast_head":"\n