Fading optimism among business service providers

In June 2008, most business service providers were optimistic about the future. The mood is still good, but optimism slowly started to fade in the last few months.

In June, Dutch business service providers were pleased with the number of orders they received in May. On balance, 13 percent evaluated the number of orders received as ‘good’, given the time of year. However, they were again less satisfied than in the preceding month. This was for the fifth month in a row. Providers of business services remained positive about the economic climate. The mood was even somewhat better than in May.

The number of business service providers expecting to receive more orders and to generate a higher turnover in the next three months exceeded those anticipating a decline. The entrepreneurs expect employment in their branch to expand. On balance, 15 percent expect to hire more staff in the next three months, as opposed to 13 percent in May. Four out of ten business service providers reported that staff shortages are hampering production growth. On the other hand, more than half the number of entrepreneurs experienced no hindrances to production activities at all.

Opinion on orders received in business services