Purchasing power will remain about the same this year and will increase by 2 percent in 2024, but that does not make up for last year’s decline. The Central Planning Bureau (CPB) writes this in a Thursday economic estimate. From 2022 to 2024, the ‘middle’ household will decline by 1 percent.
Nevertheless, there will also be more poverty in 2024 than now, the CPB expects. This year, the percentage of people below the poverty line will remain the same at 4.7 percent, but next year it will be 5.8 percent. The reason for this is the disappearance of temporary measures taken by the cabinet to support them. An example is the energy allowance that households received through the municipality.
According to the CPB, purchasing power is still falling by 0.2 percent this year because wages respond to inflation with a delay. Collectively agreed wages in most sectors will rise by an average of 5.2 percent this year, the planning office expects, and next year by 4.8 percent. It is very uncertain, the planning office emphasizes: with all the wage demands and strikes, wage developments are “stirring”.
Though winter
There will probably be no recession in 2023 and 2024, but the CPB is cautious about next winter. This year, a mild winter has brought “relaxation” to the gas market, but a harsh winter may call for extra gas purchases, driving prices up again. In that case, the economy will stagnate, and purchasing power will fall by 0.8 percent in 2024.