Netherlands economy stabilizing says stats office

The Netherlands' economic situation is stabilizing and there were hardly any changes between March and April, according to Statistics Netherlands. In mid-April almost all economic indicators were more positive than their long-term trends. In March manufacturing companies were more confident about their production for the next thee months, thought hey were less positive about the backlog. Consumer confidence decreased in March for the 4th consecutive month. According to Statistics Netherlands, this is mostly because consumers are more negative about the economy. Consumers willingness to buy improved slightly. Both consumer and producer confidence are above their long term trend. The volume of goods exports was 3 percent higher in February than in the same month last year. In January the volume of investments in tangible assets was 4.2 percent higher than January 2015. And consumer spending was up 0.3 percent in January, compared to the same month last year, though this is the lowest increase since October 2014. In March there were 93 fewer bankruptcies than in February - this first decrease in six months. Both the number of jobs and vacancies increased in the 4th quarter of 2015. The number of jobs increased by 60 thousand, with temp jobs contributing most to the growth. There are currently 10 million jobs in the Netherlands, adjusted for season. The number of vacancies increased by 11 thousand to 143 thousand. In February there were 7 thousand more unemployed people than in January. Though on average unemployment decreased by 5 thousand a month over the past three months. The size of the Dutch economy grew by 0.3 percent in the last quarter of 2015, compared to the previous quarter. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2014, the economy grew by 1.6 percent. Over all of 2015, the Dutch economy grew by 2.0 percent.