Entrepreneurs in the Netherlands who are active in the non-financial part of the business community are extremely positive about the economic situation. The measured business confidence recorded a value of 18.1 in the first quarter of 2018. This is the highest score since Statistics Netherlands started measuring confidence in entrepreneurs.
Confidence is especially high in the area of employment, but entrepreneurs do experience problems due to a shortage of workers. In the fourth quarter of last year, 27 percent of companies employed more staff than in the previous quarter. The workforce at 10 percent of companies shrank.
Profitability increased
Profitability has also improved: on balance, profits increased by 17 percent. Profitability improved at 26 percent of the companies surveyed in the last three months of 2017, a record according to Statistics Netherlands. Business confidence serves as a mood indicator for entrepreneurs in the Netherlands. The index is drawn up in the Netherlands Business Survey (COEN), a study by CBS, the Chamber of Commerce, EIB, MKB-Nederland and VNO-NCW.
Nederlands