Confidence in the economy

Figures on confidence in the economy are taken from the consumer confidence survey. This survey gives monthly information on opinions of consumers on the general economic developments and the financial situation of their own households.

One of the questions in the survey is: ‘How do you see the next twelve months? In general will the economic situation in the Netherlands improve, deteriorate or remain the same?’
The percentage of negative answers to this questions is subtracted from the percentage of positive answers. Together with the net scores on four other questions, this gives the overall picture of consumer confidence.

Example of calculation
Of all the people asked, 50 percent expect the situation to improve, and 30 percent expect it to deteriorate; 10 percent expect no change and 10 percent don’t know. The score is then 50 – 30 = 20.

Quarterly consumer confidence figures
From today, quarterly figures on consumer confidence will also be published by background characteristics. These figures make it possible to break down the developments in consumer confidence and the underlying indicators by demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The quarterly figures are available for 2002 and later. They are not corrected for seasonal effects.