Dutch Consumer Confidence Weakens Further, Jobless Rate Rises

(RTTNews) - Consumers in the Netherlands remained more pessimistic in February, while the unemployment rate increased for the first time in five months, data from the Central Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.

The consumer confidence index dropped to a 15-month low of -32 in February from -28 in January. Further, the indicator in February was well below the 20-year average of -10 points.

The survey revealed that both the opinion on the economic climate and the willingness to buy deteriorated in February.

The economic climate sub-indicator worsened to -54 in February from -50 in the prior month. Both consumers' assessment of the economic situation in the past twelve months and their assessment of the economic situation in the coming twelve months deteriorated.

The index measuring willingness to buy stood at -17 in February versus -14 in January. Consumers also found the time for making major purchases less favorable than in January.

Separate official data showed that the seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 3.8 percent in January from December's stable rate of 3.7 percent. Even though it was a slight rise, the latest jobless rate was the highest since September 2022.

The number of unemployed people increased to 386,000 in January from 373,000 in December.

The increase in unemployment was not due to more people losing their jobs, but because more people went looking for work and did not find work immediately, the agency said.