Exports move up as consumer durables rally economic growth
10 Aug '06
3 min read
In addition exports of Dutch products also showed a clear increase. Imports grew nearly just as substantially as exports. The increase in imports was not only accounted for by re-exports, but also for an important part by increasing domestic expenditure and consumption.
More durable goods sold Dutch households spent over 8 percent more on durable consumer goods in the second quarter than twelve months previously. They bought more clothes, furniture and consumer electronics in particular.
Overall, households spent 2.8 percent more than in the same period last year, after corrections for price changes and changes in the new health care insurance system. This is the highest growth since 2000. The volume of government consumption was 1.2 percent higher .
Employment continues to rise There were 80 thousand employee jobs more in the second quarter of 2006 than twelve months previously (1.1 percent). This growth is equal to that in the first quarter of 2006. In terms of full-time equivalents, growth is slightly lower (0.9 percent).
The reason for this is the large proportion of part-time jobs in the growth sectors. After correction for seasonal effects, the number of jobs was 0.3 percent higher in the second quarter than in the first quarter of 2006. This, too, indicates that employment growth continues.
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