Fewer bankruptcies for first time in three months

The number of bankruptcies decreased in July after an increase in June, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported. The number of bankruptcies showed a monthly decrease for the first time in three months. Annually, however, the number of bankruptcies has been higher for 15 months in a row than in the same months a year earlier.

According to CBS, 49 fewer companies were declared bankrupt in July than in June. That is a decrease of 16 percent. In June, there was still an increase of 19 percent on a monthly basis. The number of declared bankruptcies peaked at 911 in May 2013. After that, bankruptcies decreased until August 2017. Subsequently, the trend remained fairly flat until mid-2020.

Since then, the number of bankruptcies has decreased further and reached a record low in August 2021. However, from May 2022, the number of bankruptcies was continuously higher than in the same month a year earlier. In June 2023, the number of bankruptcies topped 300 for the first time in about three years.

Of all industries, the construction industry had the highest number of bankruptcies at 39. That is 7 percent less than in June. In trade, where the most bankruptcies were declared in recent months, the number fell sharply from 66 in June to 34 in July. Construction and trade are among the largest industries.

Relatively speaking, the most bankruptcies in July were declared in the hospitality sector. There, 28 companies went bankrupt, compared to 27 in June.