The Dutch economy grew by 2.6 percent in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the three months before. This growth has mainly been fueled by consumers and businesses spending more money, despite high inflation. Government spending remained virtually unchanged. That is what the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) announced on Wednesday.
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Compared to the first three months of this year, households spent about 0.9 percent more in the second quarter. It should be noted that catering establishments, ‘non-essential’ shops and contact professions were still closed in the first quarter due to the corona pandemic.
Despite high inflation, households spent more on catering, culture and recreation, among other things. Compared to the second quarter of last year, they spent a total of 7 percent more money on this. However, households did spend less on food and home furnishings compared to last year.
Statistics Netherlands reports that the gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 5.3 percent compared to the second quarter of last year. Here too, corona restrictions had a major influence.