Steady rise in bankruptcies, though number still low

The number of companies declared bankrupt is steadily increasing. According to a monthly report by the Chamber of Commerce, 185 companies went bankrupt last month. On average, that was more than in recent months.

Up to and including October this year, there were an average of 142 bankruptcies per month. September also saw an increase, with 176 companies declared bankrupt.

The number of bankruptcies is slowly increasing, explained Erik Stam, a professor at the Utrecht University School of Economics. “But it is still historically low, lower than in the period before the coronavirus pandemic.”

On November 1, the Chamber of Commerce’s trade register counted over 2.3 million companies active in the Netherlands. That is over 119,200 more than a year earlier, an increase of 5.5 percent. The number of startups has been stable at between 21,000 and 22,000 for five months. The number of closing companies also remained about the same.

“Despite all the macroeconomic dynamics of the past few months, the number of starters and quitters are quite stable, and there is still a strong net increase in the number of companies,” Stam noted.

Most closing companies came from the construction sector. But the number of startups also increased in the sector. On balance, the construction sector grew. In the car trade, another sector highlighted by the Chamber of Commerce, the number of companies decreased after increasing every month last year.