Weekly economics overview
The Debt Agency collected 1.8 billion DKK in the first six months of this year. The new rules that allow the debt agency to keep 60% of the income towards paying debt have sped up debt collection. 175,800 people in Denmark are losing a significant part of their salaries to debt recovery. It is mainly unpaid alimony, SU debt, tax debt, police fines, and undeclared B-tax income. You can check your debt here.
Banknotes older than 2009 will become invalid from May 31, 2025. Old banknotes with a total value of 2.8 billion DKK have yet to be exchanged at the bank and the clock is ticking. You can see here which specific banknotes are affected.
An economic forecast for 2025 shows that private consumption will increase by 3.7%. To understand this number, you need to look at the growth this year, which is at 0.9% so far. Since the financial crisis in 2008, the people in Denmark have been more reluctant to spend and have quietly put money aside, spending less than they earned. With the significant wage increase, the lower interest rates, the stabilization of inflation, and a boom in new businesses starting, a spending spree is expected starting this Christmas season.
Two billion DKK invested in NorthVolt by ATP at risk of being lost. An incredibly large investment made by the public pension fund ATP is at risk now, as the company targeted, NorthVolt, is on the verge of bankruptcy. NorthVolt is a Swedish company and the only manufacturer of batteries for electric cars in Europe.
- Why should we care? This is our pension money.
The decentralization of the government is running at “turtle speed”. Since the decentralization reforms of 2015 and 2018, 5,750 government jobs have been moved from the capital to the province (read: Jylland). However, at the same time, 12,000 new government jobs have been created in the capital, which means that the balance is still skewed. 40.9% of government jobs are in the capital, while 38.1% are in the province. The change has only been of 0.3% since 2015.
Focus
The interest rate is lowered again. The third time this year. This time it went from 3.1% to 2.85%. A fourth interest rate cut is expected in December. The people with variable interest rate loans will be the first to notice, as the quarterly payment will be significantly reduced.
We have 2,845,000 cars in Denmark. Compared to a decade ago, there is a 28% increase. On average, every car ride has 1.08 passengers, which means most cars ride almost empty. The worst statistic? 30% of all car rides are under three kilometers.
- The number of private cars is increasing. The kilometers driven and the frequency to which we use the cars for errands and short trips are also increasing. Is the country of bikes a thing of the past?
- Every day we have 14 million empty seats. We don’t use that capacity, and instead we complain about traffic congestion and climate challenges. Each of us can choose to join a carpooling app and make sure we fill up the seats. You drive cheaper, as you can charge them for gas and maintenance, and you have company 🙂
