Dutch economic growth rises faster than forecasts

The Dutch economy is on target to grow by 2% this year, rising to 2.4% in 2016, the government’s macro-economic policy unit CPB said on Tuesday.

In March, the CPB put the growth figures at 1.7% and 1.8% respectively but increased the 2016 figure to 2.1% in June.

The growth is reflected across all sectors in the economy, the CPB says. Exports will rise sharply next year, consumer spending is increasing and companies are upping their investments.

And while world trade may lag this year because of disappointing growth in demand in Asia and Latin America, ‘robust growth’ in Europe and the US will power exports, the CPB said.

While next year an average growth of 1.1% in spending power is on the cards, double income households will benefit most with a rise of 1.8%, the CPB said. The unemployed and pensioners will, however, have less to spend. In particular pensioners will see their spending power go down by 1.1%.

Budget

The CPB forecasts form the basis of the government’s 2016 spending plans, which will be presented to the public on the third Tuesday in September. Pensioner groups have already called on ministers to ensure that pensioners are not hard hit.

‘Pensioners’ spending power has gone down since 2008 so this is the seventh year in a row,’ Liane den Haan of pensioners’ lobby group ANBO said.

MPs from ruling coalition parties have welcomed the new forecasts but D66 has called on ministers to press ahead with tax reforms in order to ‘make hay while the sun shines’.