Slower growth rate of goods & services exports in 2005
14 Feb '06
3 min read
The increase in exports was again largely based on re-exports of goods produced outside the Netherlands; goods produced in China, Taiwan or the US, for example, are distributed through the Netherlands after only little further processing. The increase in exports of products manufactured in the Netherlands was limited in comparison. In the fourth quarter the growth of exports was 3.7 percent..
After the strong decrease in employment in 2004, the fall in the number of jobs of employees in 2005 was only 0.4 percent. In the course of 2005, employment improved clearly and the number of jobs even rose slightly. In the fourth quarter of 2005 there were 18 thousand more jobs than in the fourth quarter of 2004.
The turnaround was caused by the recovery of business employment, and mainly by the increase in temporary jobs. Labour productivity, the volume of production per working year, was about 1.5 percent higher in 2005 than in 2004.
This increase was smaller than in 2004, the first year of economic recovery. It is an indication that the continuing economic recovery is making itself increasingly felt on the labour market.
marketing@alchempro.com
