The chief economist at the Dutch National Statistical Office says that “the Netherlands is in recession” for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Netherlands: The decline in household consumption was a major contributor to the contraction in the last quarter
The Dutch economy recorded a decline for the second quarter in a row, according to preliminary estimates by the National Statistics Office, today, Wednesday, which indicates a “slight recession.”
The decline recorded in the second quarter was 0.3 percent, after the first three months of 2023 showed a contraction of 0.4 percent, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.
“The decline in household consumption was a major contributor to the contraction in the last quarter,” the statistics office said, as “the Dutch often bought less furniture and clothing,” despite higher spending in the culture and leisure sectors.
Foreign trade was another important factor slowing down as imports increased and exports decreased, particularly from the Dutch chemicals industry.
“This means, according to the most common definition, ‘the Netherlands is in recession’,” said Peter Hein van Meulgen, chief economist at the Statistical Office, in a presentation of the report online today.
He added that the figures also indicate that the Dutch economy is suffering from recession for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Van Meulgen believed that the lack of growth has not yet translated into a decline in the labor market.
The economist pointed out that compared to other European countries, the Dutch economy, after the decline associated with the (Covid-19) pandemic, “recovered more quickly and more strongly,” but a year ago it turned to the opposite path.
The contraction of 0.3 percent in the Netherlands comes in contrast to the slight growth recorded by France and Belgium at 0.5 and 0.2 percent respectively in the second quarter.
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2023-08-16 16:39:06
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