Minister of Finance Elisabeth Svantesson and the government’s general assessment in the spring bill is that inflation will continue to fall and reach the target of two percent during the year. This paves the way for a turnaround in the Swedish economy, even if households will continue to feel high interest costs in 2024. According to the forecast in the spring bill, Sweden will continue to be in recession both this year and next year, but in 2025 it looks to be a turning point.
“We are now going through an economic winter with weak growth and rising unemployment. It is a difficult economic situation, but there is a lightening in that inflation is going down,” emphasizes Elisabeth Svantesson in a press release.
The government expects that inflation measured in CPI will be 3.1 percent in 2024, and 0.8 percent in 2025. The main reason for the falling inflation is falling energy prices.
According to the press release, the government’s long-term plan to meet the difficult economic situation is to fight inflation and support households and welfare, while at the same time restoring the work line and implementing structural reforms for higher growth. The temporary additional allowance for families with children within the housing allowance is extended for the rest of the year.
The government has already announced in advance further increases in resources to strengthen law enforcement agencies. The correctional service is proposed to receive SEK 1.4 billion extra in 2024 for continued expansion of detention and prison places. The State Board of Institutions is proposed to receive an extra SEK 300 million to increase security and to deal with the increasing number of children and young people who are sentenced to closed youth care. Sweden’s courts are proposed to receive SEK 100 million more this year.
“Security in Sweden must increase, which is why we are making additional investments in law enforcement agencies and the defense. We clearly see that the fight against inflation has yielded results, but now we have to persevere and lay the foundations for Sweden to be built both safer and wealthier in the future,” emphasizes Elisabeth Svantesson in the press release.
