Danish economy sees sharpest fall in four years

Denmark’s economy shrank by 1.8% in the first quarter of the year, the largest decrease in nearly four years, according to a seasonally adjusted report from Statistics Denmark. While private consumption has declined and exports have suffered, economists caution against reading too deeply into a single GDP report. Interestingly, the labor market continues to achieve record performance. GDP, which measures the economic size of a country, went up by 2.7% in the last quarter of the previous year. Chief Economists Jeppe Juul Borre and Allan Sørensen suggest that despite the downturn at the year’s start, the Danish economy is expected to recover during the rest of 2024 and end the year with growth, citing the success in the pharmaceutical industry, Tyra gas field reopening, and the strength of the labor market as drivers for a highly positive outlook.