The Activity Index, which measures the activity in the Swedish economy, increased in March 2008. The change in the trend was 0.2 percent in March, which corresponds to an annual rate of 2.8 percent.
The increase of the Activity Index in March can be explained by exports of goods and the number of hours worked for employees in the government sector.
Sales in retail trade also contributed to the increase. Imports of goods and industrial production contributed negatively to the change in the Activity Index.
The change in the trend of the Activity Index for the period March 2007 – March 2008 was 2.6 percent. The seasonally adjusted index decreased by 0.1 percent in March compared to February.