Sweden’s business confidence barometer fell to 102.3 in March 2026 from a downwardly revised 104 in the previous month. This marked the lowest reading since September last year, though still pointing to a broadly neutral business climate. Firms’ assessment of demand (-24 vs -25 in February) remained steady but slightly weaker than normal overall, with trade standing out as more stable. Employment (-7 vs -6) declined across all sectors, although hiring plans (4 vs 5) suggest a modest pickup in staffing over the next three months. Price expectations (13 vs 12) remained broadly in line with normal levels, but the trade sector showed softer pricing power, led by grocery retailers where price cuts are expected, partly reflecting the upcoming VAT reduction on food. Meanwhile, investment plans were mixed, with manufacturing seen holding steady this year while services showed a more optimistic outlook. source: National Institute of Economic Research, Sweden

Business Confidence in Sweden decreased to 102.30 points in March from 104 points in February of 2026. Business Confidence in Sweden averaged 100.00 points from 1996 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 121.30 points in October of 2021 and a record low of 57.40 points in April of 2020. This page provides the latest reported value for - Sweden Business Confidence - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Sweden Business Confidence - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on March of 2026.

Business Confidence in Sweden decreased to 102.30 points in March from 104 points in February of 2026. Business Confidence in Sweden is expected to be 102.00 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Sweden Business Confidence is projected to trend around 104.00 points in 2027 and 101.00 points in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-02-26 08:00 AM
Business Confidence
Feb 104.7 106.3 105
2026-03-25 08:00 AM
Business Confidence
Mar 102.3 104.0 102
2026-04-29 07:00 AM
Business Confidence
Apr 102.3


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Bankruptcies 935.00 864.00 Companies Feb 2026
Business Confidence 102.30 104.00 points Mar 2026
Industrial Inventories -5734.61 2751.95 SEK Million Dec 2025
Capacity Utilization 88.80 89.00 percent Sep 2025
Car Registrations 19341.00 16041.00 Units Feb 2026
Changes in Inventories -28672.00 11901.00 SEK Million Dec 2025
Corruption Index 80.00 80.00 Points Dec 2025
Corruption Rank 6.00 8.00 Dec 2025
Electricity Production 18238.64 16906.75 Gigawatt-hour Jan 2026
Industrial Production YoY 1.90 2.30 percent Jan 2026
Industrial Production MoM -5.70 3.90 percent Jan 2026
Manufacturing Production 2.20 2.20 percent Jan 2026
Mining Production -6.70 7.30 percent Jan 2026
Natural Gas Stocks Capacity 0.08 0.08 TWh Mar 2026
Natural Gas Stocks Injection 0.00 0.00 GWh/d Mar 2026
Natural Gas Stocks Inventory 0.01 0.01 TWh Mar 2026
Natural Gas Stocks Withdrawal 0.00 0.90 GWh/d Mar 2026
New Orders YoY 97.80 122.00 points Jan 2026


Sweden Business Confidence
In Sweden, the confidence indicator for the business sector is intended to provide a quick qualitative indication of actual outcomes, current situation and future expectations of Swedish companies. The variables in the survey include new orders, output, and employment. The survey covers 6,000 firms in the business sector.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
102.30 104.00 121.30 57.40 1996 - 2026 points Monthly

News Stream
Sweden Business Confidence Hits 6-Month Low
Sweden’s business confidence barometer fell to 102.3 in March 2026 from a downwardly revised 104 in the previous month. This marked the lowest reading since September last year, though still pointing to a broadly neutral business climate. Firms’ assessment of demand (-24 vs -25 in February) remained steady but slightly weaker than normal overall, with trade standing out as more stable. Employment (-7 vs -6) declined across all sectors, although hiring plans (4 vs 5) suggest a modest pickup in staffing over the next three months. Price expectations (13 vs 12) remained broadly in line with normal levels, but the trade sector showed softer pricing power, led by grocery retailers where price cuts are expected, partly reflecting the upcoming VAT reduction on food. Meanwhile, investment plans were mixed, with manufacturing seen holding steady this year while services showed a more optimistic outlook.
2026-03-25
Sweden Business Mood Stays Firm Despite Downturn
Sweden’s business confidence barometer fell for the second consecutive month to 104.7 in February 2026 from a slightly downwardly revised 106.3 in the previous month, but remained above the 100 level, indicating stronger-than-normal sentiment. Still, the decline was mainly driven by softer confidence in the manufacturing sector. Companies’ assessment of overall demand was largely unchanged from January (at -25) and remained weaker than usual, though trade stood out, with sales conditions seen at normal levels. Employment fell more than typically seen over the past three months (-6 vs -7 in January), yet firms expect hiring to pick up moderately in the quarter ahead (5 vs 6), particularly in construction. Meanwhile, most businesses anticipate raising selling prices in the next three months (12 vs 14), except for retailers, which have sharply scaled back their pricing expectations.
2026-02-26
Sweden Business Confidence Wanes But Still Elevated
Sweden’s business confidence barometer eased to 106.4 in January 2026 from a 3-1/2-year high of 107.4 in December, ending a six-month sequence of improvements while continuing to indicate elevated sentiment. Confidence fell noticeably in construction (97.6 vs 99.9 in November), explained by more pessimistic employment plans, while the other sectors only saw small decreases. The confidence indicator for the trade sector fell slightly to 109.6 from 110.2 but is still the highest in the survey. Sentiment in manufacturing (103.6 vs 103.8) remains stronger than normal but was dampened by a more pessimistic assessment of the size of the order book. Confidence among service providers declined (105.3 vs 106.1) mainly due to a less optimistic outlook for demand for firms’ services over the coming three months.
2026-01-29