In April, 9 percent fewer bankruptcies than a year earlier

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Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports that, adjusted for court days, 331 businesses (including sole proprietorships) were declared bankrupt in April. That is 31 fewer bankruptcies than in the same period a year earlier, or a decrease of 9 percent. The number of bankruptcies rose by 23 percent in April relative to March.

As of March 2025, the focus of the news release on bankruptcies is on the changes compared to a year earlier and on the bankruptcy rate. This is the number of declared bankruptcies per 100 thousand businesses. The bankruptcy rate provides a clearer picture of the change in the number of bankruptcies in the Netherlands. It also allows for better comparison between sectors. The number of businesses can fluctuate over time and differ greatly between sectors.

Bankruptcy rate also lower

The bankruptcy rate, the number of bankruptcies per 100 thousand businesses, was 9.0 in April. One year earlier, 10.1 per 100 thousand businesses were declared bankrupt.

Since the start of the series in 2015, the bankruptcy rate peaked at 24.8 in March 2015. After that, a decline started and a record low of 3.4 was reached in August 2021. The number of bankruptcies per 100 thousand businesses increased again until 2024. Since then, the bankruptcy rate has stabilised at a low level, in relative terms.

Most bankruptcies recorded in manufacturing

In relative terms, the most bankruptcies in April were declared in the manufacturing sector, not adjusted for court days. For every 100 thousand businesses in this sector, around 33 went bankrupt. One year earlier, the number was around 26.

Sources

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