The business sector

Östersund´s business sector is characterised by bustling activity, an enterprising spirit and a firm belief in the future. Östersund is by tradition a commercial city where time-honoured enterprises are currently complemented with IT and Telecom.Central Östersundboasts an abundance of large department stores and smaller more exclusive boutiques.

Communcations

Östersund is one of only a few towns in northern Sweden´s inland, and this demands a varied and well organised transport system. Proximity to Stockholm is only 50 minutes by air or five hours by train.

Åre/Östersund International Airport is situated on the islandofFrösön, just 10 minutes by car/bus from the city centre. Östersund is also well supported from an IT-structural perspective with a continual development of broadband construction in the Municipality.

Commercial City

There is no doubt that Östersund is indeed an old commercial city. Age-old traditions with open markets held in the centre of the city are still very much alive and Östersund boasts the Swedish record in square meters of shop windows per capita!

The Public Sector

The public sector dominates the Labour Market. In Östersund municipality 41 % of the jobs can be found in the public sector — the national average is 31%.

Mid Sweden University

Mid SwedenUniversity is the municipality´s largest generator of knowledge and is a necessary recruiting base for the companies demanding high levels of skills/competence, which have chosen to establish part of or indeed their entire operations in the municipality.

Mid SwedenUniversity´s profile focuses on entrepreneurship and business development as well as electronic production and soft ware development. The level of education in Östersund is somewhat higher than the national average. Thirty three percent of Östersund´s citizens have a higher level of education than upper-secondary school, compared with a national average of 30.3 %.

Engineering and services

Side by side with commerce and the public sector there are well known producers of components for the manufacturing industry, with multi-national clients on their list.Two of Östersund´s companies dominate the market for snow guns. Traditional businesses are now complemented with IT and Telecom, mainly due to excellent infrastructure and skilled and loyal staff.

Special Skills

Over the years, two fields of competence with international marketability have developed in Östersund. These are motor electronics and telecom. Skills in motor electronics are mainly due to substantial experience of working with military vehicles during the many years Östersund was a garrison city.

Tourism

Östersund has a long tradition and excellent skills/competence in tourism and the hotel/restaurant trade. The hotel/restaurant trade, which is an important part of adventure/experience enterprises, has seen an immense development. During the past few years we have seen many excellent examples of successful international conferences and sports events.

Environmental Issues

Environmental awareness is high. Östersund municipality, its citizens, businesses — in fact the entire region are foremost when it comes to knowledge about and awareness of environmental issues.