Better mood among manufacturers
The mood among Dutch manufacturers lifted in March. The producer confidence indicator climbed to 1.1, the highest level since the summer of 2011.
Producer confidence consists of three component indicators: manufacturers’ opinions on their order positions, their opinions on their stocks of finished products and the projected output over the next three months. Manufacturers were less negative about their order positions than in February and more positive about their future output and their stocks of finished products.
Producer confidence in manufacturing industry
For the third consecutive month, manufacturers were less pessimistic about future employment in their branches. In March, 16.4 percent of manufacturers anticipated staff cuts during the next three months, whereas 10.6 percent expected employment in their branch to improve. The balance of positive and negative answers reached -5.7, versus -14.8 three months ago in December 2013.
Expectations workforce next three months
More figures can be found in dossier Business cycle.
For more information on economic indicators, the reader is referred to the Economic Monitor.