EK Business Tendency Survey: Finnish companies’ business outlooks soften slightly – growth still expected to continue

According to the Business Tendency Survey conducted by the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) in October, Finnish companies have become slightly more cautious in their assessments compared to the previous survey, even though their business outlook is clearly stronger than in the early months of the year. Growth has continued in recent months, especially in manufacturing, where output is expected to continue increasing in the near future. Moreover, the labour force is no longer contracting.

The business outlook for the next few months is moderate, and growth is expected to continue overall. The recovery will be more subdued in the service sector than in manufacturing and construction, but service sales are also expected to increase slowly. Overall, the number of persons employed by businesses is expected to increase somewhat.

“According to the survey, business conditions have continued to strengthen since the summer particularly in manufacturing, which is a positive result considering the current tense economic environment. The general stabilisation of employee numbers in the business sector as a whole is also positive. Although businesses’ expectations have grown slightly more uncertain since the end of the summer, growth is still forecast to continue in the coming months,” says Penna Urrila, Director, Chief Economist at the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK).

Companies expect costs to continue rising quickly, but they also forecast slight improvement in profitability. According to the Business Tendency Survey, there is quite a lot of variation in the market situation of Finnish companies: despite improvements, just over half of the companies still described their demand as weak. At the same time, however, there is some shortage of labour, and capacity shortages also became more widespread in manufacturing.

“Inflationary pressures continue to be broad-based, driven especially by energy prices. Central banks are expected to continue raising interest rates. The political instability of many key economies, continuing military conflicts and the unpredictability of trade policies will inevitably also affect companies’ confidence in their future prospects. However, the relatively positive result of the survey is also indicative of the competence and competitiveness of Finnish companies in uncertain times,” Urrila says.

EK Business Tendency Survey

The Business Tendency Survey is published four times a year by the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK). The survey has been carried out regularly since 1966. It is part of the European Commission’s Joint Harmonised EU Programme of Business and Consumer Surveys, which is partially funded by the EU. The survey concerns activity in Finland. In October 2026, EK asked companies to evaluate their business outlook for the third quarter of 2026 and their expectations for the coming months. A total of 1,158 companies employing around 300,000 people in Finland responded to the survey.