Consumer confidence reaches 10-year low on euro crisis fears
Wednesday 20 June 2012
Dutch consumer confidence fell to a 10-year low in June as fears about the eurozone financial troubles grew, the national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday.
The broad confidence index fell two points to -40 but confidence in the economy fell four points to -65 as consumers said they expect the economic woes to continue for at least the next 12 months.
Consumers' willingness to make major purchases remained unchanged at -23.
Despite the gloom, Dutch national income per head of the population is 31% above the EU average, European statistics agency Eurostat said on Tuesday.
Luxemburg, with its large number of cross border workers and international banking industry, is the richest EU country with GDP per capita 274% above the average.
© DutchNews.nl
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Is it a wonder consumer confidence is low, the cost of everything is going up in Holland, there is no leadership to speak of unemployment is growing while salaries are dropping, companies no longer offering contracts our pensions are worth nothing and the Euro is down the drains and they wonder why consumer confidence is low? They live on another planet and are totally out of touch!
By AndyT | 20 June 2012 9:18 PMOh my goodness Andy, don't complain too much! This is a wonderful country and everything is going great ;) fan-fricking-tastic.
By Bill | 21 June 2012 3:49 PMApparently clearly speaking your mind and voicing your opinions is not the trend these days. Just wait a few months, things change quickly here.
Dear Dutch Government; as you are doing the usual headscratching, completely flummoxed by the situation, let me explain how your country works.
Your employers and your uitzendbureaus give out temporary contracts. They do this for 3 years (max allowed), and then they tell you to sit at home for 3 months and collect your WW uitkering, then *hey presto* they can issue you with another contract with the company. This state of insecurity means: nobody can take out a mortgage, nobody can take out a loan for a large item (home improvement, car, etc) and any savings that are possible are locked away for lean(er) times. In turn this inreases redundancies (reduces spending) among makelaars, home improvement businesses, car showrooms, etc.
By osita | 21 June 2012 7:07 PM