Optimistic mood prevails among business service providers

In February, business service providers remain optimistic about the future. The number of companies in this sector expecting to receive more orders and to generate a higher turnover in the next three months well exceeds those anticipating a decline.

Business service providers expect employment in their branch to expand; on balance, 27 percent expect to hire more staff in the next three months. Providers of computer services in particular require new staff urgently. Nearly four out of ten companies in the business services sector report that shortage of manpower is impeding production growth.

In February, Dutch business service providers are pleased with the number of orders they received in January. On balance, 23 percent describe the number of orders received as ‘good’, given the time of the year. This percentage virtually equals that of November and December, but is less than in January. Providers of business services are also very positive about the economic climate in general, though less excited than in January.

The business sentiment survey conducted among providers of business services examines the mood in three branches: lease companies, computer services and other business services. Currently, the survey also includes commercial services and the publication frequency has been increased from quarterly to monthly since January 2008. This adjustment is described in “Business sentiment survey for commercial services”.

Opinion on orders received in business services