The supply of labour was relatively ample in manufacturing and retail trade in this region. The construction industry, services and the local government and hospital sectors reported that there was a limited supply of engineers, project managers and nurses. In Helgeland, manufacturing and primary industries play a more important role than in region North. The public sector also plays a greater role than in the country as a whole, partly because public institutions such as the Brønnysund Register Centre, the National Library, the Norwegian National Collection Agency and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's licence division are located there. Nordland is the largest producer of farmed fish in Norway. Over 126 000 tons were produced in 2005 according to Statistics Norway. Salmon accounted for the bulk of production. Salmon prices are high at present. Prices have fallen somewhat since June, but are still high, generating solid earnings in the industry. Employment is rising in the region and unemployment is at its lowest level observed for several years. The development of the Skarv Idun fields is expected to boost employment and activity ahead, either directly through new supply contracts for enterprises in the region or through onshore support facilities in connection with field development. Field development can also generate a positive spillover into services, construction and manufacturing. In Norway, inflation has edged up since the cyclical upturn started. The year-on-year rise in the consumer price index (CPI) was 2.2 per cent in July.

Reports from the regional network indicate that capacity utilisation is high in the construction industry and in manufacturing, particularly among suppliers to the petroleum industry. There were reports of shortages of engineers and project managers. Many of our contact enterprises in corporate services also reported increasing skills shortages. On the other hand, idle capacity is reported in retail trade and in household services. There are limitations to how much the supply of Norwegian labour can increase ahead. Labour participation rates are at a historically high level, particularly when taking into account demographic developments. Developments in the labour market are similar to the profile observed ahead of the period of accelerating wage and cost inflation that started in 1998. Several factors can explain why wage growth has been moderate so far during this cyclical utpurn. An increase in inward labour migration and the opportunities provided by an international labour market may have resulted in greater emphasis on the high wage level in Norway relative to our trading partners. Inward labour migration has also contributed to reducing bottlenecks in some industries. Developments in region North are fairly similar to the situation in the other regions of the country. Region North reported prospects of solid growth in most industries. Manufacturing, retail trade and the local government and hospital sectors expected moderate growth in investment. The service sector expected zero growth in investment. There were reports of moderate employment growth in all sectors, with the exception of the local government and hospital sectors where growth was unchanged.