Helsinki: Finnish consumer confidence fell for the first time in four months this month as rising unemployment damped sentiment in the Nordic nation.
The confidence index decreased to 15.4 from 15.9 in the prior month, Helsinki-based Statistics Finland said in a statement on its website yesterday.
The economy had its biggest drop since the 1918 civil war last year, when output shrank 7.8 per cent. The recession that ended in the third quarter continues to weigh on jobs, curbing household confidence in the northernmost euro member.
The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 per cent in February from 7.6 per cent in the same month a year earlier.
Manufacturing confidence fell to minus 4 in March from minus 1, the Confederation of Finnish Industries said, citing a separate survey.
