The mood indicator is based on the Economic Survey, a monthly survey conducted by Statistics Netherlands among 1,300 providers of business services. The survey seeks to provide up-to-date information about the sector business service providers and includes questions about:
- recent figures on turnover, order portfolio, prices, personnel employed
- their opinions on orders received and the economic climate
- their future expectations about turnover, order portfolio, prices, personnel employed.
The results of the Economic Survey are the net result of positive (increased, improved) and negative (decreased, deteriorated) answers.