Advertisement

Borg's spring budget targets growth and jobs

TT/The Local/og
TT/The Local/og - [email protected]
Borg's spring budget targets growth and jobs
Anders Borg explained the spring budget. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

UPDATED: Finance Minister Anders Borg revealed the government's last budget before the elections in September, announcing that Sweden's GDP could expect a solid growth over the next two years.

Advertisement

 
Sweden's GDP would likely increase by 2.7 percent this year and 3.3 percent next year, Borg said at a press conference on Wednesday morning. He made his predictions as the government revealed its spring budget proposal, its last before the elections in September. Communicating policy priorities was now key, Borg intimated.
 
"We need to be tougher with what we're getting across and more careful in our economic policy," Borg told reporters.
 
The treasury predicted a "gradual drop" in unemployment through to 2015, with the figure predicted to fall to 7.7 percent this year and 7.3 percent the year after.
 
Indeed, employment was high on the agenda for the policy bill.
 
"The people who have most difficulty getting a job are those who have not completed their education or who have inadequate knowledge," Borg said in a statement. "We must therefore raise the quality of education to strengthen the workforce and prevent people from suffering unemployment in the future."
 
In more of a long-term employment goal, the budget also detailed plans to inject the budget with an education and growth package worth just over 5 billion kronor in 2015, which was set to be gradually increased to around 8 billion kronor by 2018.
 
Borg's budget also revealed a hike in alcohol and tobacco prices, with a packet of cigarettes to cost 1.36 kronor ($0.2) more and a packet of moist snus to cost an extra 2.54 kronor.
 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also