Bankruptcies fell 18% in August compared to July, but bankruptcies up 40% this year

The number of bankruptcies in August decreased significantly compared to the previous month, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). In August, 307 companies and institutions, including one-person businesses, were declared bankrupt, down 18 percent compared to July. Despite the month-to-month improvement, roughly 40 percent more bankruptcies were declared in the first eight months of 2024 when compared to the same period last year.

A total of 378 companies were declared bankrupt in July, which was 71 more than in August. It was the seventh time this year that the most bankruptcies were reported in the trade of goods and services.

The CBS said 51 of these firms went bust in August, down by more than half compared to July. The trade sector has the most companies of all sectors in the Netherlands, and as such has had the highest number of annual bankruptcies each year since 2009.

When weighted by proportion of bankruptcies per sector, the transport and storage sector was most impacted in August. The number of bankruptcies decreased last month in the construction industry and the hotel and catering industry, while there was an increase in education and other specialized services.

Still, the CBS said that it is clear that the rising trend of bankruptcies has been ongoing for over two years. A total of 1,818 bankruptcies were reported in 2021, possibly in part due to coronavirus-related financial support. This rose to 2,145 the following year, and 3,272 in 2023.

Thus far, 2,882 organizations have been declared bankrupt in 2024. Since May 2022, the number of bankruptcies has been continuously higher when compared to the same month a year earlier.

The number of finalized bankruptcies in a single month peaked at 911 in May 2013. This consistently decreased until August 2017. Subsequently, it remained roughly level until halfway through 2020 before it started decreasing to hit a record low of 109 in August 2021.