5 May 2014

A phone survey of a limited sample of contacts in Norges Bank's regional network was conducted in the period 22-25 April 2014. All the regions were represented in the survey and contacts at 74 private sector enterprises were interviewed. The interviews focused on developments in output and employment since February.

In February (report 1-2014), regional network enterprises expected moderate output growth in the next six months. Information gathered at the end of April indicates that output has increased somewhat less than expected by the enterprises in February. The overall outlook for output growth appears to be approximately unchanged from February.

In February, enterprises planned for a slight increase in employment over the next three months. In April, they reported that developments in employment had been broadly in line with expectations. Capacity utilisation would appear to be somewhat lower than in February.

Facts about the regional network