In construction and related areas in particular, the pinch has been felt south of the Gulf of Finland, with one window-making firm based near Tallinn having to file for bankruptcy and lay off 70 people.

As Estonia’s largest trading partner, the downturn there slows Estonia’s economy too, SEB analyst Mihkel Nestor noted.

“Essentially in every conceivable sector. Industrial results have not been good, retail trade and domestic consumption in general are at rock bottom, and, perhaps most worrying of all, the construction market is practically non-existent [in Finland].Naturally, this impacts us. It is very difficult for me to imagine any kind of miraculous growth figures for the Estonian economy in a situation where Finland is doing very poorly. We are so closely connected,” Nestor told “Aktuaalne kaamera”.

Estonian window maker Fenestra has just filed for bankruptcy at a time when Finland’s construction market hit a decades-long slump, hurting Estonian exporters and with no recovery in sight for Finland’s economy.

Read more: ERR.EE