Business survey Netherlands; to company size

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Company size Margins Periods Business climate Business climate last three months Business climate has improved (%) Business climate Business climate last three months Business environment remained unchanged (%) Business climate Business climate last three months Business climate declined (%) Business climate Business climate last three months Balance business climate last 3 months (%) Business climate Business climate next three months Economic climate will improve (%) Business climate Business climate next three months Economic climate will remain unchanged (%) Business climate Business climate next three months Economic climate will decline (%) Business climate Business climate next three months Balance economic climate next 3 months (%) Business climate Uncertainty business climate Easy to predict (%) Business climate Uncertainty business climate Moderately easy to predict (%) Business climate Uncertainty business climate Moderately difficult to predict (%) Business climate Uncertainty business climate Diffucult to predict (%)
5 or more employed persons Value 2025 March 8.6 79.0 12.4 -3.8 10.1 80.5 9.4 0.6 5.2 48.5 34.9 11.4
2025 April 5.3 85.7 9.0 -3.7 6.2 87.6 6.2 0.0 4.0 50.9 34.9 10.2
2025 May 6.5 81.8 11.7 -5.2 7.7 85.2 7.1 0.5 4.6 51.0 33.9 10.5
2025 June 6.6 82.8 10.6 -3.9 5.3 88.5 6.2 -1.0 4.0 51.2 33.4 11.4
2025 July 9.6 81.1 9.3 0.2 8.0 85.8 6.2 1.9 4.6 51.1 32.9 11.4
2025 August 6.5 83.2 10.3 -3.8 6.1 88.1 5.8 0.3 4.9 49.0 34.5 11.6
2025 September 5.2 86.4 8.4 -3.2 6.0 87.0 7.0 -1.0 4.3 51.0 33.1 11.6
2025 October 6.0 83.4 10.6 -4.7 7.0 85.0 8.0 -0.9 3.1 50.8 34.4 11.7
2025 November 8.4 83.4 8.2 0.2 7.4 84.6 8.0 -0.6 4.4 49.3 34.3 12.0
2025 December 6.8 84.2 9.0 -2.2 8.2 83.9 7.9 0.2 5.4 48.7 32.8 13.1
2026 January 8.6 83.7 7.7 0.9 8.5 83.9 7.6 0.9 3.0 50.9 34.3 11.8
2026 February 8.9 82.8 8.3 0.6 7.5 86.2 6.3 1.3 4.9 49.2 35.5 10.4
Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2025 March 6.8 76.5 10.6 -6.5 8.3 78.1 7.8 -1.9 4.0 45.6 32.0 9.4
2025 April 3.9 83.5 7.4 -6.1 4.8 85.6 4.8 -2.2 3.0 48.0 32.2 8.4
2025 May 4.9 79.4 9.9 -7.7 6.1 83.2 5.7 -1.7 3.4 48.1 31.2 8.7
2025 June 4.8 80.4 8.6 -6.6 3.7 86.3 4.6 -3.4 2.8 48.1 30.5 9.6
2025 July 8.0 78.9 7.5 -2.3 6.4 83.6 4.8 -0.3 3.4 48.2 30.2 9.6
2025 August 4.9 81.0 8.5 -6.2 4.7 86.3 4.4 -1.7 3.7 46.1 31.8 9.8
2025 September 3.8 84.4 6.8 -5.4 4.6 85.0 5.4 -3.2 3.1 48.1 30.4 9.8
2025 October 4.6 81.2 8.8 -7.1 5.2 82.8 6.4 -3.3 2.1 48.1 31.7 9.9
2025 November 6.6 81.0 6.6 -2.3 5.8 82.4 6.4 -3.0 3.2 46.6 31.6 10.2
2025 December 5.4 82.0 7.2 -4.6 6.4 81.7 6.3 -2.2 4.0 45.8 30.1 11.1
2026 January 6.8 81.5 6.1 -1.5 6.9 81.9 6.0 -1.5 2.0 48.2 31.6 10.0
2026 February 7.3 80.6 6.7 -1.8 5.9 84.2 4.9 -0.9 3.5 46.5 32.8 8.6
Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2025 March 10.4 81.5 14.2 -1.1 11.9 82.9 11.0 3.1 6.4 51.4 37.8 13.4
2025 April 6.7 87.9 10.6 -1.3 7.6 89.6 7.6 2.2 5.0 53.8 37.6 12.0
2025 May 8.1 84.2 13.5 -2.7 9.3 87.2 8.5 2.7 5.8 53.9 36.6 12.3
2025 June 8.4 85.2 12.6 -1.2 6.9 90.7 7.8 1.4 5.2 54.3 36.3 13.2
2025 July 11.2 83.3 11.1 2.7 9.6 88.0 7.6 4.1 5.8 54.0 35.6 13.2
2025 August 8.1 85.4 12.1 -1.4 7.5 89.9 7.2 2.3 6.1 51.9 37.2 13.4
2025 September 6.6 88.4 10.0 -1.0 7.4 89.0 8.6 1.2 5.5 53.9 35.8 13.4
2025 October 7.4 85.6 12.4 -2.3 8.8 87.2 9.6 1.5 4.1 53.5 37.1 13.5
2025 November 10.2 85.8 9.8 2.7 9.0 86.8 9.6 1.8 5.6 52.0 37.0 13.8
2025 December 8.2 86.4 10.8 0.2 10.0 86.1 9.5 2.6 6.8 51.6 35.5 15.1
2026 January 10.4 85.9 9.3 3.3 10.1 85.9 9.2 3.3 4.0 53.6 37.0 13.6
2026 February 10.5 85.0 9.9 3.0 9.1 88.2 7.7 3.5 6.3 51.9 38.2 12.2
5 to 50 employed persons Value 2025 March 9.1 77.8 13.1 -4.1 10.5 80.0 9.5 1.0 5.0 45.2 33.6 16.2
2025 April 7.1 83.0 9.9 -2.8 6.2 86.2 7.6 -1.5 5.8 45.7 33.4 15.1
2025 May 8.5 78.7 12.8 -4.3 8.3 83.5 8.2 0.1 5.9 44.6 33.7 15.8
2025 June 7.7 79.9 12.4 -4.7 7.1 83.4 9.5 -2.5 5.8 45.0 34.6 14.6
2025 July 9.6 79.7 10.7 -1.2 6.9 85.0 8.1 -1.2 6.8 44.5 34.8 13.9
2025 August 7.0 81.6 11.4 -4.4 6.8 85.7 7.5 -0.7 6.4 44.0 34.2 15.4
2025 September 8.1 80.9 11.0 -3.0 7.9 83.7 8.4 -0.6 6.0 47.1 32.2 14.7
2025 October 7.1 80.3 12.6 -5.5 6.4 82.7 10.9 -4.6 4.9 47.4 34.1 13.6
2025 November 9.3 80.7 10.0 -0.8 8.7 81.0 10.3 -1.5 4.3 45.6 35.7 14.4
2025 December 6.8 82.4 10.8 -4.0 8.8 80.8 10.4 -1.6 5.7 46.0 32.5 15.8
2026 January 9.7 79.8 10.5 -0.8 7.6 81.2 11.2 -3.5 4.5 48.5 32.4 14.6
2026 February 9.1 80.4 10.5 -1.4 8.0 83.0 9.0 -1.0 6.2 48.2 32.9 12.7
Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2025 March 6.2 73.7 10.0 -8.8 7.6 76.3 7.0 -3.1 3.0 40.5 28.9 12.5
2025 April 4.4 79.3 7.2 -6.7 3.8 82.9 5.1 -5.0 3.6 40.8 28.9 11.8
2025 May 5.6 74.8 9.9 -8.8 5.6 80.0 5.7 -3.8 3.7 39.7 29.0 12.3
2025 June 4.8 75.8 9.3 -9.2 4.4 79.5 6.6 -6.8 3.6 40.1 29.9 11.3
2025 July 6.9 75.8 7.8 -5.5 4.5 81.5 5.4 -4.9 4.3 39.6 30.1 10.8
2025 August 4.5 77.9 8.7 -8.3 4.4 82.6 5.1 -4.0 4.0 39.3 29.7 12.1
2025 September 5.4 77.2 8.1 -7.1 5.5 80.4 5.9 -4.1 3.8 42.4 27.9 11.4
2025 October 4.6 76.6 9.5 -9.6 4.2 79.2 8.0 -8.3 3.1 42.7 29.6 10.5
2025 November 6.6 77.0 7.3 -4.9 6.0 77.3 7.4 -5.8 2.5 40.9 31.2 11.1
2025 December 4.4 78.9 7.9 -7.9 6.1 77.1 7.5 -5.9 3.5 41.3 28.2 12.3
2026 January 6.8 76.1 7.6 -5.1 5.1 77.5 8.3 -7.6 2.5 43.8 27.9 11.1
2026 February 6.4 76.7 7.8 -5.5 5.3 79.5 6.3 -4.9 3.7 43.5 28.4 9.6
Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2025 March 12.0 81.9 16.2 0.6 13.4 83.7 12.0 5.1 7.0 49.9 38.3 19.9
2025 April 9.8 86.7 12.6 1.1 8.6 89.5 10.1 2.0 8.0 50.6 37.9 18.4
2025 May 11.4 82.6 15.7 0.2 11.0 87.0 10.7 4.0 8.1 49.5 38.4 19.3
2025 June 10.6 84.0 15.5 -0.2 9.8 87.3 12.4 1.8 8.0 49.9 39.3 17.9
2025 July 12.3 83.6 13.6 3.1 9.3 88.5 10.8 2.5 9.3 49.4 39.5 17.0
2025 August 9.5 85.3 14.1 -0.5 9.2 88.8 9.9 2.6 8.8 48.7 38.7 18.7
2025 September 10.8 84.6 13.9 1.1 10.3 87.0 10.9 2.9 8.2 51.8 36.5 18.0
2025 October 9.6 84.0 15.7 -1.4 8.6 86.2 13.8 -0.9 6.7 52.1 38.6 16.7
2025 November 12.0 84.4 12.7 3.3 11.4 84.7 13.2 2.8 6.1 50.3 40.2 17.7
2025 December 9.2 85.9 13.7 -0.1 11.5 84.5 13.3 2.7 7.9 50.7 36.8 19.3
2026 January 12.6 83.5 13.4 3.5 10.1 84.9 14.1 0.6 6.5 53.2 36.9 18.1
2026 February 11.8 84.1 13.2 2.7 10.7 86.5 11.7 2.9 8.7 52.9 37.4 15.8
5 to 250 employed persons Value 2025 March 9.0 77.8 13.2 -4.2 10.9 80.9 8.2 2.8 5.2 46.9 33.3 14.6
2025 April 6.7 82.9 10.4 -3.7 7.4 84.3 8.3 -1.0 5.1 46.1 36.2 12.6
2025 May 8.2 78.2 13.6 -5.4 9.2 82.9 7.9 1.2 5.5 45.6 35.4 13.5
2025 June 7.7 81.0 11.3 -3.7 6.9 84.9 8.2 -1.3 4.5 48.0 34.4 13.1
2025 July 10.1 79.5 10.4 -0.3 6.9 85.5 7.6 -0.6 5.8 45.8 35.1 13.3
2025 August 8.4 80.2 11.4 -2.9 8.0 84.9 7.1 0.8 5.6 46.0 35.1 13.3
2025 September 7.0 82.3 10.7 -3.7 8.1 83.7 8.2 0.0 5.0 48.6 33.1 13.3
2025 October 7.9 79.2 12.9 -4.9 8.0 82.0 10.0 -2.0 4.1 47.0 35.7 13.2
2025 November 9.8 80.6 9.6 0.2 9.1 81.5 9.4 -0.4 3.9 47.5 35.3 13.3
2025 December 6.9 82.8 10.3 -3.5 7.7 83.0 9.3 -1.6 5.0 47.3 33.5 14.2
2026 January 10.6 79.6 9.8 0.8 8.0 81.8 10.2 -2.2 4.1 47.4 35.4 13.1
2026 February 9.3 81.0 9.7 -0.3 8.6 83.8 7.6 1.0 5.2 47.2 35.8 11.8
Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2025 March 6.6 74.5 10.5 -7.9 8.5 78.0 6.2 -0.5 3.6 43.0 29.6 11.9
2025 April 4.7 80.0 8.0 -6.8 5.4 81.6 6.1 -4.1 3.5 42.2 32.5 10.1
2025 May 5.8 74.9 11.1 -9.1 6.8 80.0 5.9 -1.9 3.9 41.7 31.7 10.8
2025 June 5.3 77.7 8.8 -7.2 4.7 82.0 6.0 -4.6 2.9 44.1 30.5 10.6
2025 July 7.7 76.4 8.0 -3.8 4.9 82.8 5.6 -3.5 4.0 41.9 31.4 10.8
2025 August 6.2 77.1 9.0 -6.2 6.0 82.4 5.1 -2.1 3.8 42.3 31.4 10.8
2025 September 5.0 79.4 8.3 -7.0 5.9 81.0 6.2 -3.1 3.4 44.9 29.6 10.8
2025 October 5.7 76.1 10.4 -8.4 5.8 79.1 7.6 -5.3 2.7 43.3 32.0 10.7
2025 November 7.4 77.5 7.2 -3.3 6.7 78.4 7.0 -3.7 2.5 43.8 31.8 10.8
2025 December 4.9 79.9 7.9 -6.6 5.5 80.1 7.1 -4.7 3.4 43.6 30.0 11.5
2026 January 8.2 76.5 7.4 -2.7 5.8 78.9 7.8 -5.5 2.5 43.7 31.7 10.4
2026 February 6.9 78.1 7.5 -3.6 6.4 80.9 5.6 -2.1 3.2 43.5 32.3 9.3
Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2025 March 11.4 81.1 15.9 -0.5 13.3 83.8 10.2 6.1 6.8 50.8 37.0 17.3
2025 April 8.7 85.8 12.8 -0.6 9.4 87.0 10.5 2.1 6.7 50.0 39.9 15.1
2025 May 10.6 81.5 16.1 -1.7 11.6 85.8 9.9 4.3 7.1 49.5 39.1 16.2
2025 June 10.1 84.3 13.8 -0.2 9.1 87.8 10.4 2.0 6.1 51.9 38.3 15.6
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Table explanation


This table provides up-to-date information about the opinions held by Dutch entrepreneurs on their achievements, expectations and judgments regarding their business. This panel survey is aimed at gaining insight into the current situation, future development and the judgments of Dutch enterprises. As a result it is possible to detect turning points in optimism or pessimism at an early stage, providing an early indication of possible trend changes in the economic activities of the Dutch enterprises. Data are broken down by main business activities (SIC 2008) and size- classes. The questions submitted to the entrepreneurs at the beginning of a quarter concern output, turnover, prices, order books, stocks, investments, competitive position, economic climate, staff size and the obstacles they have encountered. In answering the questions relating to developments in the past three months and expectations for the next three months, the entrepreneurs are asked for a comparison with the preceding period of three months.

The aggregation ‘all enterprises (no finance or energy)’ includes all available branches questioned in the Business Survey Netherlands. Because not every branch is questioned monthly, this aggregation will only have data available for the first month of each quarter. The aggregation ‘C industry, H-S services and 45+47’ includes all monthly questioned branches and serves as a subtotal of the monthly questionnaire.

Data available from: January 2012

Status of the figures: All figures are definitive.

Changes compared to the previous version:
Data for a new period has been added.
Due to a minimal improvement in the company size classification, figures for the periods in 2015 may have been adjusted by 0.1 percentage points.
The order of figures for the topic ‘Selling prices/rates next three months’ has been aligned with the Dutch version of this table.

Changes as of September 4th 2025:
Corrections have been made to previously supplied data for the manufacture of metals. For this reason figures for the topics ‘Assessment of finished products stocks’ and ‘Orders placed next three months’ have been adjusted for C Manufacturing and other activities which manufacturing is part of.

When will new figures be published?
The results for the next month are expected to be published on March 30, 2026.

Description topics

Business climate
The weighted response rates on the statements:
- "The economic climate (business situation) for our business has improved, remained unchanged or declined in the last three months."
- "The economic climate (business situation) in the next three months for our company is expected to improve, remain unchanged or decline?"
Business climate last three months
The weighted response rates to the question:
- "The economic climate in the last three months for our business improved, remained unchanged or declined?"
Business climate has improved
Weighted response rate of producers indicating that the economic climate (business situation) for their enterprise in the last three months has improved.
Business environment remained unchanged
Weighted respons rate of producers indicating that the economic climate (business situation) for their enterprise in the last three months remained unchanged.
Business climate declined
Weighted response rate of producers indicating that the economic climate (business situation) for their enterprise in the last three months has declined.
Balance business climate last 3 months
The weighted response rate of producers indicating that the economic climate (business situation) in the last three months has improved minus the weighted response rate that it has declined. This balance represents the development of the economic climate (business situation) over the last three months compared with the previous three months.
Business climate next three months
The weighted response rates to the question:
- "We expect the economic climate (business situation) for our company to improve, remain unchanged or decline in the next three months."
Economic climate will improve
Weighted response rate of producers indicating that the economic climate (business situation) for their enterprise is expected to improve in the next three months.
Economic climate will remain unchanged
Weighted response rate of producers indicating that the economic climate (business situation) for the company is expected to remain the same in the next three months.
Economic climate will decline
Weighted response rate of enterprises indicating that the economic climate (business situation) for the company is expected to decline in the next three months.
Balance economic climate next 3 months
The weighted response rate of producers indicating that the economic climate (business situation) in the next three months will improve minus the weighted response rate that it will decline. This balance represents the expected development of the economic climate over the next three months compared with the previous three months.
Uncertainty business climate
Weighted response rates to the question:
- "The future development of your business situation is currently: easy to predict/moderately easy to predict/moderately difficult to predict/difficult to predict."
Easy to predict
Weighted response rate of entrepreneurs indicating that their business situation is currently easy to predict.
Moderately easy to predict
Weighted response rate of entrepreneurs indicating that their business situation is currently moderately easy to predict.
Moderately difficult to predict
Weighted response rate of entrepreneurs indicating that their business situation is currently moderately difficult to predict.
Diffucult to predict
Weighted response rate of entrepreneurs indicating that their business situation is currently difficult to predict.