In nearly every sector, entrepreneurial sentiment remained negative as Q3 began. However, in the retail trade, the mood improved for the third consecutive quarter. Despite this, the overarching sentiment remained balanced in terms of increase and decrease but stayed negative overall.
Entrepreneurial confidence in the Netherlands remained at minus 8.3 at Q3 2023’s start, unchanged from prior months.
Sentiment stayed negative across most sectors, but retail improved for the third quarter.
Expectations for orders and investments declined, with 2 per cent expecting a decrease, a shift from 5 per cent expecting growth last year.
Expectations regarding purchase orders and investments declined year-on-year, reflecting a broader pessimism in the business community. Specifically, at the beginning of Q3 2023, 2 per cent of entrepreneurs on balance expected a decline in the value of their order positions over the next three months. This is a stark contrast to the same period one year earlier, when nearly 5 percent were expecting an improvement, as per CBS.
This quarter marks the first time that the expected order position has turned negative since the beginning of 2021.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)
