Contacts as a whole report a moderate increase in output over the past three months. Growth has picked up somewhat since autumn, and has been slightly stronger than contacts expected in November. Output growth is primarily being generated by higher public demand. Growth has picked up in all sectors, except for the export industry. Growth is reported to be highest in household services, but the sharpest rise is reported by commercial services. Oil services continue to report a decline in output, but the decline has slowed since the previous survey.

Contacts expect a slight pickup in overall growth over the next six months, with prospects revised up somewhat since November. Higher public demand in particular is expected to contribute to the rise.

The share of contacts reporting capacity constraints has risen slightly. Contacts continue to report that labour supply is ample. Contacts report some increase in the level of employment, and they expect a slight pickup in employment growth over the next three months. As a whole, contacts estimate annual wage growth of 2.5 percent for 2017.

Information in this survey was provided by 327 regional network contacts. The interviews were mainly conducted in February.