Business service providers remain optimistic

In March, business service providers remain optimistic about the future. The number of business service providers expecting to receive more orders and to generate a higher turnover in the next three months well exceeds those anticipating a decline. 

Business service providers expect employment in their branch to expand. On balance, 23 percent expect to hire more staff in the next three months. Over one third of companies in the business services sector report that shortage of manpower is hampering production growth. Just like in the previous months, the shortage is most acute in IT. 

In March, Dutch business service providers are pleased with the number of orders they received in February. On balance, 21 percent value the number of orders received as ‘good’, given the time of year. This percentage is slightly lower than in the preceding months. Providers of business services are also very positive about the economic climate in general. On the other hand, for the third month in a row, they were less enthusiastic than in the previous month.

The business sentiment survey conducted among providers of business services examines the mood in three branches: lease companies, computer services and other business services. Currently, the survey also includes commercial services and since January 2008, the publication frequency has been upgraded from quarterly to monthly. This adjustment is described in “Business sentiment survey for commercial services”.

Opinion on orders received in business services