almost 20 % below the level of 2008. the operating environment for businesses in finland improved significantly in 2010 due to a considerable strengthening of demand in finland ’ s export markets. strengthening demand for the products of export companies and increasing output volumes will gradually raise the level of corporate fixed investment. now, let me take up some major factors affecting our economy ’ s outlook. the financial crisis hit finland, even though it took place outside our country, and we lost a lot of our total production ( figure 21 ). gdp fell by about 8 % in 2009. according to the march 2011 bank of finland forecast, the pre - recession level of output will be regained during the course of 2012. the recession has caused a contraction in the gdp share of industry, and conversely an increase in the share of services sectors, which are characterised by slower productivity growth. over the longer term, this shift will weaken the growth potential of the economy. as regards the structure of growth in finland, in 2010, the strengthening of export demand boosted the growth impact of net exports ( figure 22 ). it will remain strong, but in 2012 – 2013, the significance of net exports will decline as import growth picks up. private consumption supported growth in 2010 and will continue to do so throughout the forecast period 2011 – 2013. despite strong growth in housing investment in 2011, the growth impact of private investment was zero. private investment is expected to pick up and support growth throughout the forecast period. the annual gdp growth will slow down to 2, 7 % in 2012 and to 2, 5 % in 2013 ( figure 23 ). the unemployment rate will continue to be fairly high, averaging 7 % in 2013 ( figure 24 ). employment did not decline very much during the recession considering the depth of the collapse of output. the explanation is the use of temporary layoffs and employers ’ willingness to retain skilled work force. similarly, the post - recession growth in output has generated relatively few new jobs. inflation measured by hicp ( harmonised index of consumer prices ) has risen to above 3 % in the first 4 months of 2011 ( figure 25 ). the acceleration in inflation is mainly due to rise in the world market prices of energy and food. in finland there is an additional impact from the hike in energy taxes as of the beginning of 2011. according to market expectations, oil price will decline. average wage growth in finland is expected to remain at around 3 %. last, but not the least important topic ; public finances. we have had fairly

forecast next week, but before that comes out, let us see the general outlook without foretelling any of the content of the forecast. the bank of finland ’ s forecast will be available on 15 june 2011. economic outlook of finland the finnish economy will grow relatively briskly in the immediate years ahead. in 2011 the pace of growth will rise to almost 4 %, but in 2012−2013 it will be much slower. the pre - recession level of output will be regained during the course of 2012, somewhat earlier than estimated half a year ago. export growth will be bolstered by stronger global demand for capital goods towards the end of the forecast period. industrial and construction confidence indicators ( figure 17 ) suggest that companies have positive expectations of the future. especially the construction sector has recovered strongly from the recession. consumer confidence levels recorded in finland in 2010 reached a record high, even though the euro area debt crisis did at times cause uncertainty among finnish consumers. consumer purchasing power was bolstered in by an increase in household incomes, cuts in income tax, the improved employment situation and low interest rates. the stronger confidence and continuation of low interest rates continued to encourage the taking out of new housing loans. the finnish economy is recovering quite strongly. in 2010 the growth boosted by both domestic demand and exports ( figure 18 ). the robust economic growth of gdp seems to continue in 2011. in the first quarter of 2011 gdp growth was about 5. 5 %. private consumption has grown steadily since the second quarter of 2009, but slowed down in the first quarter of 2011. housing construction growth was exceptionally brisk in 2010, and growth is expected to moderate in 2011. construction of other buildings picked up towards the end of the year 2010 but remains still weak at the beginning of 2011 ( figure 19 ). during the course of 2010, finnish exports of goods began to benefit from growth in export markets ( figure 20 ). in 2011, the structure of growth is expected to still be unfavorable for finland ’ s capital - goods - weighted export structure. in 2012 – 2013, global demand for capital goods will begin to accelerate, and boost finnish exports. the recovery of industrial output has progressed at a very different pace in different industries. the chemical industry started bis central bankers ’ speeches to recover early from the recession, and metal industry output began to grow during the course of 2010. forest industry output is not expected to return to pre - recession levels due to cuts in production capacity. electronics industry output is still