Netherlands' economic climate dips in July 2023

Consumers were equally pessimistic in July as in the previous month. Consumer confidence is low and positioned well below the long-term average over the past two decades. Producer confidence deteriorated in July, falling below its long-term average as well.

Households spent 1.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) more in May 2023, adjusted for price changes and the shopping-day pattern. Again, they spent more on services and less on goods, CBS said.

In May, the total volume (working-day adjusted) of goods exports was up by 0.8 per cent YoY.

In May 2023, the average daily output of the Dutch manufacturing industry was 9.2 per cent lower than in May 2022. Output also contracted on an annual basis in the preceding months of this year. After adjustments for seasonal and working-day effects, manufacturing output rose by 1.2 per cent between April and May.

In Q1 2023, the number of hours worked, adjusted for seasonal effects, was 0.7 per cent higher than in the previous quarter. Total hours worked by employees and self-employed people over Q1 2023 amounted to over 3.6 billion.

In June 2023, 353,000 people aged 15–74 years were unemployed. This is 3.5 per cent of the labour force, just as in May. At the end of March, there were 437,000 unfilled vacancies, just as many as at the end of December 2022. This stabilisation follows two quarters of decline.

In Q1 2023, turnover at temporary employment and job placement agencies rose by 3.2 per cent relative to the previous quarter.

In Q1 2023, gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 0.3 per cent relative to the previous quarter, according to the second quarterly estimate. In Q4 2022, GDP rose by 0.9 per cent. The contraction in Q1 2023 is mainly due to increased withdrawals from storage facilities.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)