Economic outlook again less positive

The Business Cycle Tracer is a tool to monitor the state and the cycle of the Dutch economy. It presents a coherent macroeconomic picture of the past month or quarter, based on all the figures published by CBS. However, it does not apply equally to all households, enterprises or regions.

Consumer confidence at all-time low, producer confidence hardly changed

There was little or no change in the confidence of both consumers and producers in October. Consumer confidence remained at its lowest level ever and was well below the long-term average over the past two decades. Producer confidence was slightly less positive in October than a month earlier, but was above its long-term average.

Higher household consumption, exports and investments

Households spent 4.1 percent more in August 2022 year on year, adjusted for price changes and number of shopping days. They again spent more on services, but less on goods. Household consumption growth was slightly lower than in the preceding month.

The volume of investments in tangible fixed assets was 3.1 percent larger year on year. This is mainly because investments in buildings, machinery and passenger cars were up. However, investments in infrastructure were lower than in August 2021.

In August 2022, the total volume of goods exports was up by 2.5 percent year on year. Growth is slightly larger than in the previous month. The increase over August was mainly seen in exports of machinery and appliances.

Manufacturing output almost 6 percent up in August

In August 2022, the average daily output generated by the Dutch manufacturing industry was up by 5.9 percent on August 2021. Growth has been fairly stable over the past three months, but smaller than in the preceding months.

More bankruptcies in September

There were 25 more bankruptcies in September than in the previous month. The number of pronounced bankruptcies is low compared to the period before the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis. In the first three quarters of 2022, it was approximately 5 percent higher than in the first three quarters of 2021.

House price increase levelled off further in September

In September, owner-occupied dwellings (excluding new constructions) were on average 9.4 percent more expensive than in the same month last year. The price increase was 11.9 percent in August. It is the fifth consecutive month that price growth has levelled off.

More hours worked and job vacancies, higher unemployment

In Q2 2022, the number of hours worked adjusted for seasonal effects was 2.6 percent higher than in Q1 2022. Total hours worked by employees and self-employed people over Q2 2022 amounted to approximately 3.7 billion.

At the end of June, the number of unfilled vacancies stood at 467 thousand. This is 16 thousand more than at the end of the previous quarter. It is the eighth quarter in a row that the number of vacancies has increased. The number of unfilled job vacancies has more than doubled in two years.

In September 2022, there were 382 thousand unemployed. Just as in August, this was equivalent to 3.8 percent of the labour force. From July through September, unemployment rose by an average of 14 thousand per month.

In Q2 2022, turnover at temporary employment and job placement agencies rose by 0.7 percent relative to the previous quarter.

Economic growth of 2.6 percent in Q2 2022

According to the second quarterly estimate conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on the basis of currently available data, in Q2 2022 gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.6 percent relative to the previous quarter. Investments and the balance of trade (exports minus imports) contributed the most to economic growth. Household consumption also made a positive contribution.

GDP was up by 5.1 percent relative to Q2 2021. Household consumption, the trade balance and investments contributed to the growth in particular.