The technology industry in Sweden has experienced a slowdown in growth in the fourth quarter of 2022, yet a positive outlook for the future is maintained. According to Almegas’s recent economic activity report, the Services Indicator, the private services sector is expected to see a negative growth in the spring, with business services linked to industry and construction most affected.
Christina Ramm-Ericson, chief economist of TechSverige, points out that the tech industry experienced a significant slowdown in growth in the fourth quarter of 2022. The report shows that growth in the information and communication industries was close to zero in this quarter.
Despite the slower growth in 2022 as a whole, output in the tech sector was still 4.6 % higher than in 2021. However, the majority of this increase occurred in the first months of the year. In the fourth quarter of 2022, output was only 0.3 % higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2021, marking the lowest growth rate of the industry since 2012.
One of the main reasons for weak growth in the fourth quarter is a decline in telecommunications production, which fell by 9.6 % compared with the previous year. Despite this decline, exports of telecommunications, data and information services increased by 9.2 % in the whole year of 2022 compared to 2021, measured in current prices.
This increase in exports suggests that the tech industry still has a strong base and potential for future growth. Positive signs, such as export growth and continued investment in new technologies and innovation, provide an incentive to maintain an optimistic outlook for the industry. In the long term, the tech industry can be expected to recover from the current slowdown and continue to play a crucial role in the development of the global economy.
“A majority of companies in the tech sector believe in an increase in future sales volumes and also in a need for an increase in staff in next year”.
Christina Ramm-Ericson, Chief Economist of TechSverige
The Swedish Service Indicator
Since 2001, the Service Indicator has been developed by the employers’ organisation Almega to provide an indication of the economic situation in the private services sector, which accounts for more than half of Sweden’s total output, GDP.
