Further improvement economic situation

The economic situation at the end of November was better than at the end of October. This is mainly due to the marginal economic recovery and a further reduction of the number of bankruptcies. The heart of the indicators in the Business Cycle Tracer has taken up a better position in the recession stage and is gradually moving towards the recovery stage. All indicators are, however, still below the level of their long-term average.

The Dutch economy contracted by 3.7 percent in the third quarter compared to the same quarter of 2008. The contraction was smaller than in the first two quarters of 2009. Compared to the preceding quarter the economy grew by 0.4 percent, taking calendar and seasonal effects into account. This positive growth came after four consecutive quarters of negative quarter-on-quarter growth.

Consumer confidence improved from -19 in October to -14 in November, so the upward trend continued. The mood among manufacturers improved too. Providers of business services were less optimistic about their future turnover than in October.

Capital market interest stood at 3.5 percent in October, i.e. 0.1 of a percentage point less than in the preceding month. Dutch inflation climbed further up to 0.7 percent. Selling prices in manufacturing industry were 9 percent down on October 2008.

In the period August – October 2009, seasonally adjusted unemployment stood at 403 thousand, 4 thousand up on July - September. The number of jobs in the third quarter was 143 thousand down on one year previously. The decrease in the number of hours worked in temp jobs is slowing down. At the end of September there were 128 thousand unfilled vacancies, almost equalling the number at the end of June.

Gross domestic product (GDP)