The number of companies in the Netherlands that are confident about their survival following the coronavirus crisis has increased according to a new report by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). 

Businesses in the Netherlands

The overall confidence of Dutch businesses in almost all sectors was higher in June 2020 than it was in May. Companies are now more confident that their businesses will survive the coming year, if not longer. 

The CBS report reveals that in June more than half of the businesses surveyed had faith they would continue to be in business for the next year. This is significantly higher than in May of this year when 60 percent of the businesses owners surveyed feared for the survival of their companies. 

However, businesses in the hospitality sector (Horeca) remain unsure about their continued survival. Only a quarter of the business owners that were surveyed and work in that sector think their businesses will survive another year. 

The sectors most confident about their futures are the housing and retail sectors. In May, three-quarters of estate agents thought their company could continue to operate for at least another year, and this figure remains unchanged. In retail, however, confidence has risen and 69 percent of businesses are confident of their survival. 

More jobs on offer?

Job site Indeed has reported that the number of job ads in the Netherlands also seem to be rising again. While figures are still significantly lower than this time last year, the website says they have seen an increase in demand in healthcare and in security sectors.

Arjan Vissers, Head of Strategy at Indeed Benelux, says "It seems that the vacancy market has now bottomed and even bounced back slightly." He does acknowledge that the hospitality and tourism sectors are the most severely affected and are lagging behind other areas. 

The bigger picture in Europe

The European Commission has reported that, while the coronavirus pandemic hit the European economy harder than expected, the worst seems to be behind us and recovery is on the horizon. It is believed that the economy in Europe will be able to recover in the second half of this year, but this recovery is dependent on whether or not there is a second wave of the virus.

It appears that in comparison to other European countries, namely Spain and Italy, the Netherlands wasn’t hit as badly. The European Commission reports that the Dutch economy shrunk by 6,8 percent in total. A growth of 4,2 percent is expected in the Netherlands in 2021, but this is lower than the European average.

According to the report, Europe was only functioning at 70 or 75 percent capacity for several months in 2020, and at the lowest point of the crisis, mobility was reduced by 45 percent in comparison to before the pandemic.