Dutch economy to shrink 2%: Brussels

Monday 19 January 2009

The Dutch economy is set to shrink 2% this year, slightly more than the eurozone average, the European Commission said in an interim economic forecast on Monday.

The average shrinkage among the 16 EU countries which have adopted the euro will be 1.9%, the Commission said.

In December, the Dutch government's economic forecasting body CPB said the Dutch economy would decline by 0.75% in 2009, with export companies bearing the brunt of the downturn.

In November, the Commission said the European economy as a whole would grow 0.2% this year, with the Netherlands up by 0.4%.

The Commission also said that unemployment would soar in the eurozone to 9.25%, although the Netherlands would escape the worst of the job losses. The Dutch employment rate will climb to 4.1%, Brussels said.

© DutchNews.nl

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