04.04.2023
ICT cluster well placed – more challenging for others
The latest cluster monitoring in Northern Ostrobothnia extends to the end of 2022. Of the clusters monitored, ICT, a large cluster of the creative economy and tourism developed best during the year. The ICT cluster's turnover grew by 19.7 per cent and the number of employees by 6.4 per cent in 2022. Net sales growth was strongest in the first quarter, more than 30 per cent, but in other quarters the growth was between 12 and 22 per cent. The ICT cluster's personnel growth was strong throughout the year and slightly increased towards the end of the year.
For the creative economy cluster, with software design and manufacturing, other construction joinery products, other non-metallic mineral products, furniture manufacturing and newspaper publishing as the main industries, turnover increased by 10.8% in 2022. The cluster's net sales grew more strongly in the early part of the year than at the end of the year. The number of employees in the creative economy cluster grew by 4.6 per cent year-on-year in North Ostrobothnia in 2022. The growth in the number of personnel was good in the first three quarters, but slowed down to 1.1 per cent in the fourth quarter.
The turnover of the extensive tourism cluster grew by 23.9 per cent and the number of employees by 2.3 per cent in 2022. In terms of net sales, the growth was more than 30% during the first two quarters and in the last two quarters of the year it was 13-15%. The strongest increase in the number of personnel occurred in the second quarter of the year in a large tourism cluster, by +8.6 per cent. In the last quarter, the number of personnel contracted by 2.2 per cent compared to the period one year ago.
The number of personnel in the well-being cluster increased by three per cent in Northern Ostrobothnia in 2022. The number of personnel grew quite steadily over two per cent in the first three quarters of the year. In the last quarter of the year, the growth rate of personnel doubled to 4.6 per cent.
The turnover of the wood products and furniture industry cluster grew by 3.4 per cent in North Ostrobothnia in 2022. The development of the cluster's net sales was divided into growth periods in the first half of the year and declines in the second half of the year. In the first quarter, net sales grew by 29.2 per cent and in the second quarter by 11.9 per cent. Turnover contracted by 8.7 per cent in the third quarter and by 12.8 per cent in the fourth quarter. The number of personnel in the wood products and furniture industry cluster grew by 1.3 per cent year-on-year in North Ostrobothnia in 2022. The quarterly growth rate declined from 8% in the first quarter to 2.3% in the third quarter. In the last quarter of the year, the number of personnel decreased by 7.8 per cent.
The net sales of the metal cluster grew by 13.8 per cent year-on-year in North Ostrobothnia in 2022 compared to 2021. Growth was strong in the early part of the year, as net sales grew by 34.2 per cent in the first quarter and by 24.3 per cent in the second quarter. In the third quarter of the year, the cluster's net sales grew by 9.2 per cent until the development turned negative in the last quarter of the year, when net sales contracted by 6.3 per cent. The number of personnel in the metal cluster increased by 0.5 per cent in 2022. On a quarterly basis, the trend revolved around growth of just under one per cent. An exception to this was made in the first quarter of the year, when the number of personnel contracted by 0.2 per cent.
The turnover of the construction cluster grew by 11.6 per cent in 2022. The turnover of the construction industry grew strongly in the first quarter of the year, when the turnover of the industry grew by 22.1 per cent. In the second quarter, net sales grew by 13.6 per cent. In the third quarter, turnover in construction grew by 6.3 per cent and in the fourth quarter by 7.8 per cent. The number of personnel in the construction industry contracted by 1.5 per cent in 2022. In the first quarter of the year, the number of personnel was still slightly up by 0.7 per cent in the region. In the second quarter, the number of personnel contracted by 0.6 per cent year-on-year and in the third quarter, the number of personnel contracted by 0.3 per cent. In the last quarter of the year, the number of personnel contracted already more strongly by 5.3 per cent.
Export turnover in all industries in the region of North Ostrobothnia grew by 21.5 per cent year-on-year in 2022. Exports grew especially in the early part of the year, as export turnover grew by 40.6 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter. Export growth slowed towards the end of the year. In the second quarter, export turnover grew by 26.8 per cent, in the third quarter by 16.4 per cent and in the fourth quarter by 8.9 per cent.
From this link to the figures: Business cycle monitoring - (pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi)
