Economic situation improves further

The economic situation at the end of February is better than at the end of January. Improvements outnumber deteriorations. The heart of the scatter in the Business Cycle Tracer is located in the recovery stage, but ten of the fifteen indicators are still performing below their long-term average.

The consumer confidence indicator climbed 2 points in February, to reach -10. The mood among consumers has improved considerably, but the indicator is still negative. The mood among manufacturers deteriorated somewhat. The producer confidence indicator fell from 0.7 in January to -0,1 in February.

The volume of exports of goods was 0.2 percent up in December 2013 from December 2012. Household spending grew by 0.7 percent relative to twelve months previously. Private sector investments in tangible fixed assets increased by 19.3 percent.

Industrial production was 1.8 percent up in December 2013 from December 2012. In January, 589 businesses and institutions (excluding one-man businesses) were declared bankrupt.

Developments on the labour market are becoming less negative. The number of job vacancies increased in the fourth quarter, just as the amount of hours worked in stage A temp jobs. The number of jobs, on the other hand, fell further. Seasonally adjusted unemployment increased to 678 thousand in January. With 8.6 percent of the Dutch labour force, unemployment levels remain high.

The most recent figure on economic growth refers to the fourth quarter of 2013. Relative to the third quarter,  the Dutch economy grew by 0.7 percent. Calendar and seasonal effects are taken into account in the quarter-on-quarter growth figures. The Dutch economy also grew by 0.7 percent relative to the same period one year previously.

Gross domestic product (GDP)