Economic picture less negative in June

The economic picture was less negative in June than it was in May, according to the CBS Business Cycle Tracer. In the Tracer for June, 9 of the 13 indicators were below their long-term trend.
The CBS Business Cycle Tracer is a tool used to monitor the state of the Dutch economy. It provides an overall macroeconomic picture of the past month or quarter based on all the figures published by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). This picture will still vary between households, enterprises or regions, however.

Consumers less negative, producers more positive

Consumers were less negative and producers were more positive in June than they were in May. Producer confidence was above and consumer confidence below the average for the past twenty years.

Exports and household consumption up, investment down

In April 2026, the total volume of goods exported (adjusted for the number of working days) was up by 4.4 percent, year on year. Companies exported more petroleum products, in particular. In addition, exports of electrical machinery and equipment and transport equipment were also higher than a year earlier.

Households spent 1.0 percent more on goods and services in April, year on year (adjusted for price changes and for differences in the shopping day pattern). They spent more on goods, but a fraction fewer on services.

In April, the volume of investment in tangible fixed assets was down by 3.5 percent, year on year. Investment in buildings, infrastructure and passenger cars was lower, while investment in machinery (including defence equipment) and aircraft was higher.

Manufacturing output nearly 5 percent higher in April, year on year

In April 2026, the calendar-adjusted output of the Dutch manufacturing sector was 4.7 percent higher than it was in April 2025. Manufacturing output rose by 1.4 percent relative to March.

Fewer bankruptcies in May

Adjusted for the number of court session days, there were 2 fewer bankruptcies in May than in April, a decrease of 1 percent.

House prices up by over 4 percent in May, year on year

The average price of an owner-occupied home (excluding newbuild homes) was 4.4 percent higher in May, year on year. Prices were up by 0.6 percent on April.

Fewer hours worked, fewer vacancies, unemployment unchanged

There were 399 thousand unemployed people in the Netherlands in May. This meant that, just as in April, 3.9 percent of the labour force was unemployed.

In Q1 2026, employees and self-employed persons worked over 3.7 billion hours in total. Adjusted for seasonal effects, this was down by 0.2 percent from Q4.

At the end of Q1 2026, there were 378 thousand job vacancies, a decrease of 6 thousand compared to the previous quarter. The number of job vacancies has fallen in almost every quarter since the third quarter of 2022.

In Q1 2026, the turnover of temporary employment and job placement agencies was 3.8 percent higher, year on year.

Economic growth of 0.2 percent in Q1 2026

According to the second estimate from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.2 percent in Q1 2026, relative to the previous quarter. Public consumption, household consumption and investment made a positive contribution to growth.