Marginal improvement producer confidence

The mood among Dutch manufacturers improved marginally. The producer confidence indicator stood at –0.1 in December, versus –0.4 in November.

Producer confidence consists of three component indicators: manufacturers’ opinions on their order positions, their opinions on their stocks of finished products and the projected output over the next three months. Manufacturers opinions on their stocks improved in December, but they were more negative about their future output and their order positions than in November.

Producer confidence in manufacturing industry

In December, manufacturers became more negative about future employment in their branches; 22.7 percent of manufacturers anticipated staff cuts during the next three months, only 7.9 percent expected employment in their branch to improve. The balance of positive and negative answers deteriorated from –12.4 in November to –14.8 in December.

Expectations workforce next three months

More figures can be found in dossier Business cycle.

For more information on economic indicators, the reader is referred to the Economic Monitor.