Data published yesterday revealed that the Finnish economy shrunk by 9.4 percent in the second quarter of this year. The recession has hit Finland, and expats, particularly hard because the economy is heavily reliant on exports, the desire for which has dried-up as people tighten their belts in the slump.

'The figures are horrendous' said OP-Pohjala group economist Anssi Rantala, regarding the figures agreed by a group of economists writing in the country's biggest financial newspaper Kauppalehti. 'Statistics Finland,' the purveyor of official government statistics, claimed, by contrast, that the economy had grown by three percent in the same period something which has been described as 'only a slight easing of the recession.'

Though Finland's growth is currently the worst in the Euro-zone, Ireland's statistics are likely to indicate an even more difficult economic situation when they are released. By contrast, France and Germany are now both officially over the recession.

Sliding Demand 

According to Statistics Finland, exports - such as wood and electronics - make-up 35 percent of the Finnish economy but they have fallen thirty percent over the last year. The sliding demand has led to job-cuts which have been particularly damaging to expats because many are employed by companies which ultimately rely on exporting such as the electronics industry.

65DN interviewed British entrepreneur Ian Walker two weeks ago and he, like many other expats, was made redundant last year when the recession began to bite these companies. As reported, the engineer has established a business importing electric scooters. Many others in such businesses are in similar positions.

Forced 'Holiday'

Others, who were flourishing in the boom years and took on big mortgages, have been forced to take 'unpaid holiday.'

'I had to take three months "holiday" without pay or have no job to go back to,' explained another British expat living in Oulu, who had worked for a Nokia subsidiary company.

The rise in unemployment has further fed into the spiral as these same people cut back on spending and the amount of tax they pay. Nokia, a huge employer in Oulu when you include the various companies which work for it, has seen a quarter of its revenue wiped out over the last year.

The Finnish Ministry of Finance will publish new forecasts on 15th September.

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