Strong economic growth in Norway

Preliminary figures show that total production in the manufacturing sector increased by 1.6 percent in the second quarter, compared to 0.3 per cent in the first quarter. Most of the industries in the manufacturing sector grew, with production of chemical raw materials constituting an exception in both quarters.

In addition, the production under the category “other manufacturing”, which includes fisheries, aquaculture, and construction, increased markedly in the second quarter. Construction has been a growth engine for a long time while fisheries and aquaculture rebounded following weak first quarter figures. In total, other manufacturing increased by 1.3 per cent in the second quarter.

As has long been the case, the service sector saw solid growth in the second quarter, with a 0.6 per cent increase in activity. The growth was widely shared in the service sector, with the largest contributor being the technical and business support service activities. Activity in wholesale and retail saw a small drop in activity following strong growth in the first quarter. Gross product in the petroleum sector and ocean transport aggregate dropped by 2.3 per cent and contributed thus to an overall GDP-growth of only 0.3 per cent in the second quarter.

Steady growth in household consumption

In line with developments in the previous two quarters, household consumption increased by 0.3 per cent from the first to second quarter.

Consumption of goods grew by 0.3 per cent, which was primarily attributed to purchases of vehicles in addition to flowers, plants, and leisure goods. Consumption of services increased by 0.7 per cent, with cultural and leisure services as well as hotel and restaurant services being the strongest contributors. Household consumption abroad fell however by 1.1 per cent, thereby dampening consumption growth somewhat in the second quarter.

Consumption in public administration increased by 1.0 per cent following similar growth in the previous quarter.

Investment growth

Investments in the petroleum sector increased by 1.9 per cent in volume from 2017 to 2018. Growth was 7.1 per cent in the second quarter.

Household investments in real estate saw weak growth in the second half of 2018. Growth was 0.9 per cent in the second quarter.

All in all, gross investments increased by 2.8 per cent in the second quarter.

International trade

Exports of goods and services fell by 0.3 per cent in the second quarter. The fall is partly driven by reduced exports of crude oil, which is attributed to planned maintenance work, and partly by a fall in the exports of traditional goods (i.e. non-petroleum goods). The fall in the latter can be attributed to unusually high first quarter figures for exports of goods such as electronics and machines and equipment. Preliminary figures show growth in exports of services for the second consecutive quarter.

Imports of traditional goods fell by 1.2 per cent, while growth in imports of both airplanes and services contributed to a growth in imports of 0.4 per cent in the second quarter.

Continued growth in employment

The employment rate increased by 0.4 per cent in the second quarter, which corresponds to 12 000 people. Since January 2019 seasonally adjusted figures show an increase of about 25 000 people. Growth has been particularly strong in the last six months in several service sectors such as ICT and technical and business support service activities. Construction has also seen strong growth.

Revisions of previous quarters and years

Following a major revision process that most European countries are completing in 2019, new timelines will be published together with the latest quarterly figures. Developments in macroeconomic key indicators such as GDP are only to a small extent affected by the integration of new figures. Previously published growth rates for 2017 and 2018 remain the same, while first quarter figures increase from 0.3 to 0.5 per cent growth. Table 10 provides an overview of revisions in macroeconomic key indicators for the quarterly publication from May.

For an overview of developments in GDP for some of our trading partners, see statistics from the OECD.