Dutch consumer more pessimistic about the future

The mood among Dutch consumers weakened further in October. Consumers are obviously more negative about the future. They have never been so negative about their own financial situation in the next twelve months as in October. The consumer confidence indicator fell by 3 points to – 33.

Consumer confidence

Consumer confidence in the economic climate had already deteriorated over the past months. This component indicator fell by another 5 points to – 58 in October. Dutch consumers were much more negative about the economic situation over the next twelve months. Their opinions on the economic situation over the past twelve months also deteriorated.

Willingness to buy also deteriorated in October. This component indicator fell by 3 points to – 17. Consumers have never been so pessimistic about their own financial situation in the twelve months to come. This indicator dropped 8 points to – 19, the lowest level in 25 years. Their opinions about their own financial situation in the past twelve months were also more negative, although consumers thought the time to buy expensive items was slightly less unfavourable.

Dutch consumers are also pessimistic about the labour market. In October, 65 percent expected unemployment to rise in the next twelve months, whereas only 7 percent expected a reduction. Over the past eighteen months, consumers have not been so explicit with respect to future unemployment. Recent unemployment figures show a substantial increase over the last months.

Consumer confidence, seasonally adjusted

For more information on Dutch consumer confidence, also see Statistics Netherlands’ online video on YouTube.

More figures can be found in dossier Business cycle.