The Dutch economic picture continued to deteriorate in June, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), with 12 out of 13 long-term indicators performing below their long-term trend.
According to the CBS Business Cycle Tracer, which provides an overall macroeconomic picture of the past month or quarter, consumer confidence stood at -36 in June, a slight improvement on the -37 recorded the previous month, however producer confidence worsened to -5, down from -3.9 the previous month.
Overall, the Business Cycle Tracer indicator fell to -0.81 (down from -0.76 the previous month), marking the lowest level in the current downward trend that began in early 2023.
Economic growth
According to CBS, Dutch economic growth in the first quarter of 2025 was 0.4% up on the previous quarter. The total number of goods exported rose by 0.5% in April 2025, with export volumes higher for machinery and food, beverages and tobacco, in particular.
Also in April, household spending rose 0.2%, with households spending more on services, and less on goods.
At the same time, investment in tangible fixed assets dropped by 2.3% in April, with lower investment reported in areas such as transport vehicles, aircraft, and buildings.
Macroeconomic factors
Other indicators that have contributed to the overall macroeconomic picture include an increase in the number of bankruptcies, which rose by 10% in May 2025, with 30 more cases than in April. In addition, house prices saw a sharp year-on-year increase of 9.7% in May and rose 0.6% compared to the previous month.
Unemployment held at 3.8% in May, with a slight monthly decrease in the number of unemployed – down by an average of 2,000 per month over the past three months – while the number of job vacancies dropped by nearly 7,000 in the first quarter of the year, Statistics Netherlands noted. Read more here.
