Foreign and domestic demand, excluding petroleum activities, grew modestly in the 4th quarter of 2012. The gross domestic product (GDP) of mainland Norway was up 0.3 per cent in the 4th quarter.
However, as Statistics Norway points out, the modest growth at the end of last year must be viewed in conjunction with the strong 0.8 per cent increase in the 3rd quarter of 2012.
A decline in the production of electricity contributed in isolation to a fall of 0.1 percentage points in mainland Norway’s GDP in the 4th quarter of 2012. Total GDP grew by 0.4 per cent, helped by an increase in petroleum activities from the 3rd to the 4th quarter, according to seasonally and calendar-adjusted volume figures.
The strong growth in service industries continued in the 4th quarter of 2012. The main contributions were from technical, administrative and support service activities, information and communication, and financial and insurance activities. Value added in general government rose by 0.4 per cent in the 4th quarter, mainly due to growth in local government.
Value added in manufacturing and mining fell by 0.5 per cent from the 3rd to the 4th quarter. Commodity-based manufacturing contributed negatively, while machinery and shipbuilding industries rose. Other goods production industries fell by 0.7 per cent, primarily due to the fall in the production of electricity. Traditional fisheries showed marked growth and construction increased by 0.4 per cent.
Employment grew by 0.3 per cent in the 4th quarter, down from 0.4 per cent in the 3rd quarter. Total hours worked grew by 0.5 per cent. The growth in average annual earnings for the year 2012 is calculated to 4 per cent.
(NRK/Press release)
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