The Dutch economy contracted 0.2 percent point in the third quarter of 2022, when compared to the second, following lower investments in housing construction and infrastructure, national statistics office CBS said on Tuesday.

This means the Netherlands could be heading for a slight recession, which is defined as the economy contracting in two successive quarters, chief economist Peter-Hein van Mulligen said.

‘But the contraction is very modest and a lot of other indicators point to the strain elsewhere, such as the labour market. There are still far more jobs than people,’ he said.

Compared with a year ago, the economy grew 3.1%, but this was influenced by coronavirus measures which were in place in the third quarter of 2021, the CBS said.

Consumers spending rose some 2.3% in the third quarter, taking inflation into account, and this was mainly due to increased expenditure on travel, cafes and restaurants and culture.

The European Commission said in its latest economic forecasts on Friday that most of the EU would go into a short recession by the end of the year.

The commission said then the Dutch economy is set to stagnate in the third quarter and to contract modestly in the fourth. The commission estimates the EU economy will grow by 0.3% next year but that the Dutch figure will be double that at 0.6%.