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Swedish gov't raises economic forecast for next three years

Xinhua, December 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Swedish government on Monday projected higher economic growth than previously thought in a revised forecast, local media have reported.

Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said she expected Sweden's GDP to grow by 3.6 percent during 2015, a higher estimate than the 2.8-percent growth rate the finance ministry had previously projected, news agency TT reported.

"Sweden's GDP is very strong compared to other countries," Andersson said at a press conference. "We have seen a large increase in investments. They will form a strong contributing factor to economic growth and higher consumption next year as well," she added.

The Swedish economy will grow by 3.1 percent in 2016 and 2.4 percent in 2017, according to the finance ministry's new estimates.

The finance ministry expects Swedish unemployment, currently at 7 percent, to have dropped to 6.5 percent by 2017.

"There are more vacancies in Sweden than there ever have been. We also see labor shortages in several sectors," Andersson said, before adding that high levels of migration to Sweden this year may cause unemployment rates to rise in the longer term. Endit