However, the price of electricity remained the main factors of inflation, along with diesel prices and interest rates on both mortgages and consumer loans. In contrast, the factors that slowed down inflation were the fall in the prices of detached houses and the fall in the prices of prescription drugs.
The publication of the inflation data sparked an immediate discussion on social media, highlighted Helsingin sanomat newspaper.
Mikael PentikäinenThe CEO of the entrepreneurs tweeted that inflation not only eats away at the purchasing power of wage earners, but also at the purchasing power of companies.
“Many companies are currently between a rock and a hard place. Excessive wage increases inevitably lead to temporary and permanent layoffs, he commented, apparently referring to the difficult round of collective bargaining.
The Transport Workers’ Union AKT has organized strikes in ports and road transport that have effectively halted the foreign trade of goods with the aim of securing wage increases that balance out the effects of inflation on workers’ purchasing power. Service Union United (PAM) staged strikes earlier this year in grocery stores to try to attract pay rises to protect workers’ purchasing power.
Economists have repeatedly warned that excessive wage increases can create a wage-price spiral, a positive feedback loop between prices and wage increases.
Finnish consumer prices have risen almost continuously for the past 13 months. The annual increase in consumer prices was 0.2 percent in December 2021 and 9.1 percent in December 2022. Although the rate of inflation slowed last month, it remains at a level not seen in 40 years, according to statistics. Finland.
Finland’s inflation was at an all-time high, 19.2 percent, in January 1975. The energy crisis was the main reason for the rampant inflation at that time as well.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page